


Fried Snow

by MegRae



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol Usage, Character Deaths, F/F, F/M, M/M, Mentions of past abuse, Multiple Timelines, Reader Is Not Frisk, Reader-Insert, Slow Burn, Smut, bad words galore, mentions of past rape/non-con, reader is female, reader is unnamed but does have a personality, will update tags as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-06
Updated: 2017-04-03
Packaged: 2018-06-06 18:02:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 99
Words: 222,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6764353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegRae/pseuds/MegRae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>January 1st, 201X. It's the beginning of a new year for you after a particularly horrendous one before. That morning you agree to meet up with some friends on Mount Ebott to go for a hike. It sure is a shame about that hole that gravity decides to help you down.</p><p>New Year, new you, right?</p><p>Part One: Ch.1-Ch.21<br/>Part Two: Ch. 22-Ch.76<br/>Part Three: Ch.77-?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Down the Rabbit Hole

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of alcohol use this chapter.
> 
> For those of you that can't drink yet/don't drink/haven't been woken up hungover (or still drunk) by your alarm screaming at you... Boy it sure is something.

You were going hiking on New Year's day. Not just New Years day, but New Years morning after a night out. When one of your friends (or was it you?) had drunkenly suggested hiking Mount Ebott, never mind that none of you had ever gone seriously hiking, last night at the bar it had sounded like a great way to start off a new year. You wanted to be healthier, you remember thinking as the alcohol had made its way through your system, and what better way to work on that resolution? You'd be walking up a mountain, with your friends, and it would count as exercise? Drunk you was sold. Then some asshole, definitely not you this time, had suggested meeting about halfway up the mountain. That you weren't sold on.

However when your alarm that you swore you didn't set went off at 7:30 in the morning, you'd managed to stagger out of bed. So there you were, an hour later, hiking up a mountain with only your hangover for company for the time being. The meeting spot wasn't that far up in the grand scheme of things, but your hangover was making you crabbier than you'd usually be.You guessed that some people just wanted to watch the world burn. Or at least one of your less intoxicated friends last night had wanted to watch everyone else suffer.

"Everyone better be on time," you growled to yourself. It's not that you weren't a morning person, you just weren't a morning and exercise person after a long night of heavy drinking. You had made sure that at least one other person was planning on showing up before you left your apartment, but some company once you got there would be nice. It had been too long since you'd been able to actually be with your friends. Work had been your biggest priority for far too long now. Ugh, just thinking about working made your already aching head throb.

Or maybe that was the sunlight.

Ebott really was a pretty mountain. Somehow, no matter the season, it the forest on it was green year round. It was a shame that due to some silly folklore that had gone on to encourage the creation of some asinine laws, what you were doing now was completely illegal. This land was government property and the government had decided to stick a "no trespassing" around a small fence around the mountain's perimeter. Fortunately for anyone that was curious about the mountain, the government seemed to have completely forgotten about enforcing that whole 'no tresspassing' thing. Or at least, you thought wryly, no one had caught you yet.

The small clearing where you'd agreed to meet up at had snuck up on you while you had walked up the mountain on autopilot. Your feet had followed one of the little 'paths' that other delinquents like you had made. There was another person there, but it wasn't anyone you knew off the top of your head. They were squatting near the edge of the large hole in the ground that marked this particular summit.

"Hey, be careful! No one knows how deep that hole goes," you heard yourself yell out. They must not be a local. "None of the equipment that gets sent down survives to send a reading ba-."

The other person snapped to attention at your voice and seeing them had shocked you. They were a kid! Maybe ten years old at the most. Just a kid in a blue and pink striped sweater, longer denim shorts, and tennis shoes. A kid that was way to close to that ledge for comfort. A kid that was way too interested in and way too damn close to that hole.

Way too close.

For a split second, time stood still in that clearing. For that second you could see yourself standing there, just asking them what they were doing. Maybe being casual would show that you weren't a threat? Maybe they'd give you a strange look and a shrug before they'd take a few steps towards you before stumbling over a root and into the abyss. But as it were, you could see how close to the opening they were and those treacherous roots surrounding them. With barely a thought, you sprung forward. You sprinted towards them as they took two shaky steps back ( _'no no no kid, not backwards!'_ ) and managed to grab their wrist and fling them away from the cavernous opening. When you'd flung them backwards, you'd taken just one step too far. Like in a slow motion sequence, you turned to say something –anything-to the child, when the ground gave out under your right foot.

And then, like Alice, you tumbled down the rabbit hole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, my beta reader is me with my infant clambering all over me the majority of the time so please let me know about any mistakes that you see! 
> 
> Also this will be the shortest chapter by a long shot. I think.


	2. Into Wonderland

You were dead. You have to be. No one takes a fall like that and survives. Memories of your last few hours flash through your mind.Oh god, you were still aware of yourself. Did this mean that there was an afterlife? Would you get points for being agnostic or would whatever deity be pissed that you hadn't had faith in them? You could feel the corners of your mouth fall into a frown. No use worrying about that now, what was done was done. At least that kid was safe. Hopefully you tumbling into the abyss had cured them of whatever had them mesmerized by this place.

Wait. You had felt your mouth tug into a frown... All at once, your senses seem to reboot. You realize you can smell flowers. Your body is impossibly sore and your ears are ringing. You can see the red hues of light from behind your eyelids. You were alive. Huh.

Your eyelids feel heavy when you manage to open them. Everything feels heavy actually. You're in a cave, by yourself, on a small bed of yellow flowers. Way above, there looked to be some strange swirling blue mist in the cave. Even further above that you can see sunlight trickling down. Weird. This whole thing is weird. Is there a way back up? Nope. The cavern walls look too steep to attempt to climb, but there is a path that seems like it leads deeper into the mountain. There's nowhere to go but forward from the look of it. The next room is even less cheerful if that's possible with the exception of one lone yellow flower. A yellow flower that seems to snap to attention when you walk in.

"Oh? You're new... to the underground," the flower seems confused . "Howdy! I'm Flowey. Flowey the Flower!" Holy fuck. A talking flower. How hard had you hit your head? "You must be so confused!"

"Umm...a bit," you manage to spit out over your shock. "The underground?"

"Yep! Let me explain how things work around here, my new human friend." There is a light tugging feeling in your chest and a heart appears at in front of you. You physically feel your jaw drop at what the flower – err, Flowey – explains is your soul. You stare, transfixed. It's beautiful. Flowey is still talking, but... this is your soul?

"Hey! Come back to me human," he sounds annoyed by your gawking and you quickly apologize, "So I'm going to shoot you some friendliness pellets and you're gonna grab them with your SOUL so that you can gain some LOVE. Grab them all!"

"Err...," before you could mention that weren't exactly comfortable with this and that you'd actually zoned out, Flowey released some pellets. Out of instinct, you manage to move your soul away. "Flowey, I'm not exactly comfortable with this stuff." The flower's face gave a small twitch.

"Nonsense! What's wrong with a little LOVE?" More pellets shoot towards you. You dodge again.

"Are you STUPID? What is wrong with you? You're new – how could you possibly know about me," Flowey's face shifted from the smiling face to something almost demonic causing you to take a few steps back, "You're right to be afraid though." Those pellets of his surround you. You're trapped, an animal in a cage. "In this world – IT'S KILL OR BE KILLED." The bullets close in slowly, taunting you. There's nothing you can do. Well nothing besides close your eyes and pray for mercy.

It came.

* * *

 

Mercy's name is Toriel. At first, you were sure that the tall goat woman had been going to kill you. After she'd knocked that psychotic flower away with a fireball, she'd been comforting you until she got a good look at you.

"...You're an adult, are you not?" The voice that had been so soothing initially turned icy.

"Yes." You owed your savior the truth. Besides, lying to a creature that could quite literally kill you with fire didn't seem like a particularly smart plan. "Although to tell you the truth, I don't feel like one right now." A small laugh and some tears bubbled out of you. Great, apparently the cherry on top of this nightmare was that you were going into shock.

The goat woman approached you warily. "Let me get a good look at you, human." You shakily rise to your feet (when had you fallen on your butt?) so she can examine you, even though you have no idea what she's going to find to convince her that you're harmless. Her eyes narrow at your chest and stayed there for an awkward few moments. "Your SOUL contains no EXP and your LOVE is only at one," she seems relieved as she explains these things for some reason, "what is your name, human?" Her tone is still brisk, but it's no long as icy. Progress.

"Uh, it's -----. My name is -----. Pleased to meet you Miss...?" You think that pleased to meet her might be a tad bit of a stretch given her mood swings, but being polite never hurt anyone.

Her eyes leave your chest finally, kindness returning to her features. "Oh! Toriel. I am Toriel, the caretaker of these ruins. It's been a long time since I've seen an adult human, let alone an adult human without any LOVE." Your confusion must be written on your face because Toriel giggles at you. "Come, I shall explain what I can when we return to my home. I must warn you though that while I am being kind now, should you decide to harm a single monster here... I will finish what that flower started."

You gulp and nod. Message received, loud and clear.

* * *

 

Toriel had taken you through the ruins rather quickly. You barely had time to take in the quite frankly impressive number of puzzles let alone talk to any of the other citizens of the ruins. She seemed apologetic about that, but she just said that she needed to talk to you in private before you could explore the ruins. Plus, she wanted to feed you since you had been hurt by your fall apparently.

Toriel's home was adorable. It was somehow both small and quaint, yet spacious and grand at the same time. Actually, Toriel herself was adorable. As soon as the threat had been spoken and acknowledged, she'd switched into being a charming hostess. She'd made you sit down at the dining room table while she went to grab you something to eat. "Relax for a minute and gather your thoughts, my dear. I'll answer any questions after you eat."

As soon as she was in the kitchen, you snorted. Gather your thoughts? Not likely. You'd just discovered that there was a whole different world under the mountain today – a world that you'd passed off as bullshit stories leftover from a different time meant to frighten children. "Go to bed or the monsters under the mountain will come find you" - psh. Today you had: almost died at least twice, seen your soul, and discovered a forgotten race of creatures all presumably before noon. What a way to start off a new year.

New years.... Even thinking the words "new years" was a bad idea. With a rush of shooting pain that goes straight to your heart (soul?), you remember your friends that you were supposed to have met this morning. Had they noticed that you were missing yet? Or were they still under the impression that you had probably gone back to sleep after shooting out that text this morning? You sighed and pulled your cell phone out of your pocket. Of course, stupid smart phone – the screen had shattered at some point today. Goddammit. You push it back into your pocket with as much attitude as you can spare.

"Here my dear," Toriel smiled gently as she offered you a chocolate bar and some tea, "monster food has healing properties. The tea may be a bit strong due to that, but the chocolate should taste fine." You took a small sip of the tea and made a face before you could stop yourself. Luckily, Toriel wasn't offended at all. "Bitter, I know. All the same - drink up."

You drew in a deep breath and downed the tea. It was bitter, but you could almost feel your various bumps and bruises healing. "So, monsters are real." _'Real smooth way to start this conversation, ----, real smooth'_. Toriel just nods. "What is the underground?"

The goat woman sighs deeply, sadness etched in her breath. "Our prison. Many years ago, we shared the surface with your people. A war broke out and you humans won. We retreated under this mountain as part of a deal struck with humans, but it wasn't enough. Using the power of seven mages, your people trapped us underground." Toriel's tone is matter-of-fact. "I must apologize for my behavior earlier, ----. You're the first adult human I've seen since the mages that trapped us."

You hope your face isn't showing surprise as some quick mental math suggests that this woman in front of you may very well be centuries old. In your defense, the shock does fade quickly - somehow her potentially being several hundred years old is one of the least shocking parts of your day so far. You want to ask about the war, but you figure now isn't the best time. Even just mentioning it sounded like it upset her. Skipping the war, you move onto your next question. "My soul - you keep saying it doesn't have love. Isn't that a bad thing?"

Toriel looks at you like you're mad for a moment before something clicks for her and she starts to laugh - a real laugh. "My stars, no! First, here in the underground it's SOUL - it's the culmination of your entire being, we give the word the respect it deserves. LOVE and EXP as well, but those are acronyms. EXecution Points and Level Of ViolencE. So no, it's not a bad thing!" She keeps giggling softly for a few minutes. "Forgive this foolish old woman, please. I'd forgotten that most humans were good - my more recent memories were less than pleasant."

"Nothing to forgive." You smiled at her and got to work on the chocolate she brought out.

"Now my dear, let's talk about how things work down here..."

* * *

 

Tori, she insisted that Toriel was far too formal later that night, was a fantastic woman. She'd shot you to bed that night, apologizing for the room being a kid's room, after giving you a little more history on the underground. Stay with her, continue being a good person (you were definitely on some sort of weird human probation – she would kill you without hesitation if you slipped up), and avoid Asgore. Asgore, the king, would have your SOUL if he found out about you. He needed seven human SOULs to break the barrier and he already had six of them. She looked so heartbroken as she told you that, for whatever reason, every human that had fallen before you had been a child. She'd tried so hard to save them, believing that Asgore had no business on the surface, but they all left her. All of them were driven by something inside of them to keep moving forward, never mind the danger.

You hadn't had the heart to tell Tori that you needed to keep going when she looked so heartbroken. Instead, you vowed to not leave your new friend's home without a solid plan in place.

The next day, Tori had taken you back through the ruins to show you the puzzles. You solved a few of them yourself, but were grateful for the company. She also taught you how to "fight" monsters. By fight, she showed you how violence wasn't necessary with any of them - all monsters were so loving and understanding, they just needed to see that you were harmless by just talking with them. Hell, they were literally made of nothing but love and magic. The day after that, she'd snuck off to go find you some more clothes to wear besides the larger kids' clothes.

The third night after dinner, she handed you a backpack. "You kicking me out goat mom?" you'd asked her teasingly. Tori had only smiled a sad smile - "No my child. I just want you to keep this bag packed and ready to go just in case something goes wrong. If Asgore or the Royal Guard get wind of you being here... Well, they aren't known for their mercy with humans."

"Tori," you began, "what -." She only called you her child when she was worried about you. Worrying seemed to wake up something maternal in her.

"I've seen your SOUL ----, and it's a good SOUL," she interrupted you, "you are a danger to no one." That was the first time you'd heard Tori sound how old she actually was and how tired she was of death being near her. It was also the first time you embraced the tall goat monster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter one was the flashback you had at the beginning of this chapter. That's why it's worded so differently.


	3. Madness Returns

Today marks a week of being Underground. Above, you had probably been officially terminated from your waitressing gig and, by now, someone had probably filed a missing person's report. Your friends had probably left you behind already - you'd just reached out to most of them after over a year of radio silence, so you wouldn't blame them if they had. You'd really wanted to move forward with them after everything that had - no. If your train of thought had actual breaks, you probably would have broken them with how hard you hit them. You were not going down that path today. Or any day soon if you could help it.

Anyway.

Below ground, you'd made friends with the ruin's monstrous citizens. You spent most of your time with Tori, but you also hung out with the various Froggits, Loox, Moldsmalls, Whinsums, Veggietoids, and Migosps. It had taken all of three days to be on a first name basis with everyone in the ruins. Including the spiders that had currently recruited you to drawing them up a new flyer for the bake sell.

The spiders over the last week, spelling things out a la Charlotte's Web, had told you a tragic tale of being trapped here for generations. Their boss wanted to get them out of the ruins, but couldn't get to them and they couldn't get to their boss safely. Yesterday you'd asked if there was anything you could do and you'd come to their little corner of the ruins today to find today's message.

'Need appealing flyers' the large web had read. The entrepreneurial spiders could bake well, but their writing and drawing skills left plenty to be desired. So here you were, laying in a bed of leaves, designing a bake sale flyer for spiders. Hell must have frozen over somewhere.

"Oh hey ----. I'm sorry, I didn't see you there..." You jump as an odd coldness creeps into your very bones. Oh – Napstablook had appeared directly on top of you. You'd met Blooky five days ago with Tori – the shy ghost had apparently taken a liking to you. He usually shied away from the other monsters apparently, but he'd taken a shine to you. He looked over your shoulder and complemented your flyer. After the usual pleasantries, he joined you in the pile of leaves.

"Hey Blooky? What's the rest of the Underground like?" You were curious. You still had no plan since Tori wouldn't answer any specific questions about the underground so maybe the ghost's insight could help you put one together.

"Uhh... Not as nice as here," he whispered, "this place is just peaceful." Nope. No help there.

"It is. And before you say anything, no - I don't want you to go!" Blooky was so sweet, but painfully anxious. While you hadn't known them long, you could almost see the self-conscious thoughts forming from the corner of your eye. The two of you continued to of lay in a pile of leaves, you decided to take a break while Blooky was apparently listening to music. You knew he was a DJ, but he wasn't ready to share his music with you. You were starting to nod off when your ghoulish friend spoke again.

"If you ever decide to leave... You should come to my house in Waterfall. Or not, it's up to you." Before you could answer, they were gone. Silly ghost.

You stayed in the leaves and smiled to yourself. You aren't ready to leave yet. Despite everything, you couldn't help but be happy here in the ruins. Happier than you'd been in years.

* * *

 

It's right before dinner when Tori barges into her home and slamming the door shut behind her. "...Tori?" She looks at you with the saddest expression you've ever seen on anyone and you know that you'll see that face in your nightmares. It's fear, sadness, and agony all combined.

"Grab your bag, my child, and put a jacket on. The Royal Guard has heard rumors about a human in the ruins." Your blood runs cold.

You bolt to your room and follow Tori's instructions. Bag? Check. Jacket? Check. You throw the jacket on and throw the bag over one shoulder. ' _You've been found out. You are being hunted_.' Oh God. When you leave your room, you see Tori by the stairs to the basement. You walk to her as if you're in a trance, you're barely aware of the fact that you're moving - ' _hunted_ '.

"Will you be...punished for keeping me?" Tori shakes her head and offers you her hand. You accept it and intertwine your fingers with hers, walking down into the basement together. This is in the one area that she had asked you not to go into a week ago and you'd respected her one rule. Somehow, going down here for the first time makes this more final for you. "Even if they find proof, even if one of the monsters here spills your secret... The king wouldn't dare." You sense that there's a story there, but you don't ask. There's so many questions that you haven't asked your new friend, but now you don't have the time to ask.

She squeezes your hand as the two of you walk quickly through the basement and up to a door with that strange symbol that she wears on it. Tori lets go of your hand and drops to her knees, making her almost eye level with you.

"Listen carefully, my child. I have a friend on the other side of this door. He's sworn to me that he won't harm a human that comes through these doors. I believe him. I don't know his name, I'm sorry," you give her a look at this, "... I don't typically tell people my name anymore." You aren't able to contain your scoff at this and she sighs. "Anyway, for everyone else, just show them the mercy in your SOUL and they'll come around eventually. Hopefully there won't be too much of that though, most monsters as far from the capital as you're going to be don't know what a human looks like anymore. "

She pauses and smiles at you - a sad smile. You smile back and open your arms in the universal sign for hug. She accepts. Time holds still for another moment, but it was in a different way from the pause on the surface. Tori needs this - she's saying goodbye to yet another human. When she pulls away, she's openly crying in some strangely regal way.

"A human is finally willing to stay and Asgore finds you anyway," Tori sniffles loudly as she takes something out of a pocket from her robes to place it in your hands."For safety. Be safe, my friend."

In your hand is a small necklace of that symbol that she wears. You quickly throw it over your head and tuck it under your clothes so it doesn't snag and Tori pulls your jacket hood over your head. Looking at her, you're glad you never told that you were planning on leaving eventually. She didn't need to know.

"Tori - thank you. For everything." Your voice cracks. "I hope I'll see you again."

"Go, my friend!"

With that, you push through the door.

* * *

 

At the end of the hallway, before another door, Flowey is waiting for you.

"YOU," the tiny flower snarls viciously, "ARE MESSING WITH EVERYTHING." Bullets appear around you and vines erupt from the ground. Fight or flight finally kicks in and adrenaline rushes throughout your body. Time to run.

"IT'S TIME FOR THAT -" you never find out what it's time for. You bolt past him, hoping that he's too distracted by his spiel to be ready to attack. He is, but he recovers quickly. A loud snarl erupts from him and you hear the bullets as well as feel the vines snap after you. You fly through the door as bullets pierce your back, the door magically closing behind you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of this story will have to with personal headcanons of mine. I'll try to keep them as a logical leap most of the time (I can think of one exception right now) and explain in story 98% of the time,but I'm going to spell out my one for Tori since I'm sure she seemed very OOC.
> 
> Spoilers for the game obviously -
> 
> I don't think Tori would have been so kind if an adult would have fallen. She remembers the war and what adults did to her and her people. That combined with the death of her two children (one of which was at the hands of humans) and, well, it's a good thing for Reader that Tori can see SOULs in my universe. Had they had any LV or EXP... well, I don't doubt that the former Queen would protect her people.


	4. Interlude with the Cheshire Cat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really stretching this Wonderland theme with titles now.
> 
> Onward, into Snowdin!

Sans thought he hated Frisk and their resets. Maybe at one point he did, but now in some odd way he realizes he relies on them a bit. Maybe he had that Stockholm Syndrome that he'd read about in a human book. Pure pacifist, genocidal maniac, or some normal flawed being route - this reset has made him realize that at some point, he'd begun finding comfort in the routine. Meet the kid, possibly help the kid, judge the kid, and possibly kill the kid. That's his role. Always over a week. The same week, repeated: One day in the ruins, Anywhere between two and four days to cross the underground, maybe an extra day if they want to hang out with someone again (or take their time massacring his friends). Still, same basic routine.

Until this reset. He's almost convinced that the universe is fucking with him.

Frisk had been in the ruins for a whole week. Usually, they'd have finished with one timeline and started a new one by now, so Sans is a little thrown off his game. After countless resets, he can't believe that it just ended like that. Too easy. Too anticlimactic.

He's been on edge all week. He can tell Papyrus is worried about him, although he's disguising it as pride in him, due to the sheer amount of time he's putting into his sentry work at his Snowdin post. He's actually begun to actively patrol the forest near the door to the ruins. He knows that Frisk is with Tori since she'd only been by twice in the past week, having mentioned having a human guest.

Not for the first time, he wishes he could take a shortcut to the other side of that damn door. Stupid old magic that blocked his magic. Goddamned Delta Rune. Why that symbol blocked his magic was beyond him. He wonders if a Gaster Blaster could take out the door. _'hmm...now there's an experiment.'_

He's at his sentry station when he hears the unmistakable sound of the door opening yanks him from his thoughts, and in record time he's in the trees outside of the ruins close enough that he can see, but too far for Alphys's camera to see him. Too far to see if there is dust on Frisk's hands. They're leaning against the now shut door and even from here, he can see their form trembling. They stand there for a few minutes and Sans just stares. Frisk is even dressed different this time.

When they start to move forward, he follows a short distance behind from the tree line. When they cross that fallen tree branch and he snaps it with his magic, they visibly startle and spin to stare at the branch. Sans can't help it, he chuckles to himself.

_'frisk, buddy, what sins did you already commit to make you this jumpy?'_

When they approach the small bridge, Sans strikes. This is always where he gets his first clue as to what Frisk he's dealing with. Will they be kind, shaken up, or unabashedly covered in dust?

"hey human... don't you know how to greet a new pal?" Frisk jumps so hard that they stumble and fall onto the bridge. Oh boy, this was going to a good one.

"turn around and shake my hand."

He extends his arm, whoopee cushion on his palm, when they turn to face him still on the ground. They reach their arm towards him while still staring at the ground. Why wouldn't they look at him? They hadn't killed his brother last time they'd ran through. He was always angry with them now, but he wasn't filled with righteous fury after seeing his brother recently murdered.

It wouldn't be like the time that Frisk had bounded out of the ruins after a run of only killing Papyrus. The time when Frisk had taken two steps out of the ruins before being impaled on bones. He'd learned his lesson that time, you don't fight back against the anomaly. He mentally shakes himself back into the moment.

It's not like he won't be able to kill Frisk again, after all.

When the fart rips out, their head snaps up and their hood falls back. There's a look of pure shock followed by some hysterical sounding laughter that Sans barely hears.

Now he knows the universe is fucking with him.

You're not Frisk.


	5. Through the Looking Glass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> K, into Snowdin for reals this time. 
> 
> I should have probably pointed out that if something looks like this _'it is something that someone is specifically thinking.'_ Every now and then I want Reader to have a specific thought. 
> 
> Does it count as mind control if I'm making you think things via fanfic?  
> Hmmm....

Once the door closes behind you, you collapse against it. Both your body and what you assume is your SOUL throb with pain. That little flower fuck shot you in the back! None of the other monsters you'd met had been so cowardly. Even though they'd been terrified of you, they faced you head on. It takes a few minutes to compose yourself, but when you finally manage to pry open your eyes, you're struck by the beauty of the underground.

It's hauntingly beautiful. There's an entire snow covered forest here. In fact, if wasn't for the distinct lack of moon and stars, you would think that you were above ground. Beautiful and oh so eerie. There's no wind to break the deathly silence either actually. You shudder, not from the cold, but from the distinct feeling of being watched. You wish you could play it off as paranoia.

Deciding to move before Flowey comes and finds you stupidly still right behind the door, you march down the path between the trees. It's not too far until you find a single fallen branch in your path. It looks like it's been placed on purpose - too think and clean cut to be an accident. You swallow thickly and it does nothing to ease the uneasy feeling in your stomach.

**Crack!**

Your heart skips two beats. You turn on your heel and immediately regret it. There's now a clean break in the middle of the branch. "Nope. Nope. Na-uh." The words come out as a whisper. _'Time to go ----.Walk faster. '_

Before you know it, you're coming up on a - was that supposed to stop anything? It's a bridge that has wooden 'bars' across it. Well, you think they were meant to be bars however they are way too far apart to stop anything.

"hey human." You about jump out of your skin from the sudden company, but gravity has other plans. Your scream dies in your throat as gravity yanks you down into the snow. If it wasn't for the crippling fear, you'd be embarrassed by the fact that you'd be startled so much that you'd tripped.

"don't you know how to greet a new pal? turn around and shake my hand."

You quickly weigh your options. You could run and die. You could let that scream that you're still holding in out and probably die. Or you could turn around and shake whatever's behind you's hand. You might still die, but being polite saved you with Tori so maybe... You -somehow- pivot so that you're facing the monster with your head down. _'Oh my god, they're wearing pink slippers.'_ You shakily extend your arm, you feel a gloved hand grab it, and...

A fart sound breaks through the eerie silence of the forest like a bullet.

Your head snaps up and you make eye contact (socket contact?) with a skeleton. There's another heartbeat of silence where they drop your hand.

"BWAHAHAHA," relief floods through you as the absolute ridiculousness of what's going on hits you, "Oh my god. A whoopee cushion." The skeleton, or at least that looks like a skull up there, looks like they're in shock for another second before they visibly relax.

"yeah, it's a classic," the being grins larger than before. "i'm sans, sans the skeleton. you're a human right?" Sans offers you his hand again, minus the whoppee cushion.

"Oh, I'm ----. ---- the human." You give him your hand again and he helps yank you to your feet before dropping your hand like it burnt him. There's an awkward pause as you examine him. Sans is slightly taller than you, but not by much. Once you're up you see that, yep, he's a skeleton -you can see his tibia and fibula between the ridiculous pink slippers and his black shorts. His blue jacket is fur-lined and zipped halfway up over a white turtleneck. You'd feel awkward about your blatant gawking if he wasn't doing it too, the white pinpricks in his sockets dancing over you.

"Holy shit. You're a living skeleton."

He snorts at your obvious statement. "skeleton monster. there's a big difference kiddo." Your face immediately flushes red and wonder if you burrow yourself deeper underground. For fuck's sake, you thought you'd learned your lesson about not thinking before opening your mouth in the ruins. Sans just gives you a wink.

"so i'm supposed to capture any humans that come through here, but i don't really want to capture anybody. now my bro - he's a regular human hunting fanatic." Was this guy threatening you with his brother? "but he's harmless." Oh, not a threat. Then why..?

Sans seems to be weighing some options in his head, eyeing you suspiciously, as he walks ahead of you onto the bridge. "tell ya what - i'll give you an option human. you can run into the woods and take your chances. i won't chase ya. won't even mention that i ever saw ya. or... you can come with me, make my brothers day, and i'll even make sure that you get to snowdin safely."

You can feel his eyes digging into you now. You could run, sure. Then what? Meet a monster not as apparently lazy as Sans that would have zero qualms killing you? Or trust that the skeleton in front of you would be a man (or would it be monster? You hadn't quite figured out the semantics of this place yet) of his word? Your back gives another throb of pain, a not so subtle reminder that you probably wouldn't survive for long if you ran off, and that makes your decision for you. "I'll be right behind you then."

There's a moment when Sans eyes you again before he sighs. "i don't make promises often, but i am a skeleton of my word. i'm going to make another promise now," his voice takes on a menacing tone. In a split second, the air around is suddenly heavier and pressing down on you. You look to Sans and you see that his sockets are dark, no white pinpricks in sight. You see something huge shimmering next to him, invisible. _'Is he..using magic on me?'_ "if you hurt my brother in any way...well, let's put it this way. my brother will have the final human soul to deliver to asgore, capiche?" Gravity presses even harder into you and the invisible shimmering form breathes on you. Oh, he was using magic on you. It was hard to talk and you were shaking like a leaf when you finally managed to squeak out a small "understood".

Sans examines you for another few seconds, letting you squirm, before you're dropped by whatever magic he'd used on you. What did you get yourself into this time? When you finally feel brave enough to look at Sans again, the whites of his eyes are back, his grin is friendly again, and whatever had been beside him was gone.

"c'mon human, let's go meet my brother."

You let him get a few steps ahead of you before you follow.

* * *

 

When Sans introduced you to Papyrus, you figured that you'd been tricked. There was no was the tall skeleton was harmless with how he talked about getting into the Royal Guard. You were going to be killed by your own choice to trust the first monster you talked to outside of the ruins.

You'd never been so thankful to be proven wrong.

Papyrus was an absolute treasure of a person. In a way, like you, he just wanted friends. He was clearly too naive for his own good, inadvertently giving you the solution for the puzzle that could shock you, fiercely smart based on the number of puzzles he created, and oh so optimistic. Oh yeah, and LOUD.

In short, you were charmed.

When Papyrus had ran up to scold Sans at his sentry station for being "a lazybones of a brother that STILL hadn't recalculated his puzzles" Sans pretended to notice you for the first time. Once Papyrus pieced together that you were a human, you were immediately challenged to a puzzle course, as a "CHALLENGE OF WIT".

You agreed immediately, not wanting to risk that Sans threat also extended to hurting his brothers feelings. As you made your way through the forest you completed some puzzles, meet a few other monsters (Snowdrake said that it was a shame that you couldn't meet the canine unit of the guard - they'd been called away for something. "I don't know what though, cause it's snow business of mine!"), and got to know the brothers a little bit.

You would never admit it, but after the third encounter with the two of them, you understood why Sans had threatened you. You already couldn't imagine hurting Papyrus - you understood what Tori had meant by "a good SOUL" now. Even so, you were on edge around Sans. You kept as much space between the protective brother and yourself. Well, up until now. You'd just had a giant computer randomly generate a clear path across it, and Papyrus had looked shell shocked and done some weird twirl out of sight. You were exhausted. Tori's place had been attacked a few hours ago which meant that you'd now been slowly bleeding for a while. The marks on your back would start to scab and then you'd have to make a sudden jerky movement; only to feel the blood start to ooze again. You were going to pluck that little flower if you saw him again, consequences be damned.

You'd show that little fucker some LOVE.

You made your way across the tiles, swaying slightly as you moved. All of your energy was gone. _'Please let Snowdin be close'_ became your mantra. Sans was still here, but at this point you barely cared to step away from him.

"you look dead -." Sans touched your back at that exact moment over a freshly clotted wound causing you to hiss with pain and jump away. "no need to be so rude, kid." You wanted to explain that this wasn't him, not that you owed him an explanation, that he'd just touched a sore spot but he was already gone.

Well, shit. You feel disappointment in the fact that you must be proving his lack of faith in humanity right and also that, wait a second... Yep, your shirt was sticking to the blood on your back. Gross. You groan and keep moving forward.

When you end up on yet another bridge not five minutes later, today finally catches up to you. Or hell, maybe the whole week catches up to you. Papyrus is quivering with excitement as he explains something about the final challenge of doom while Sans glowers at you. You wish you could focus on what Papyrus was saying. It's probably important. Right before Papyrus goes to pull a lever down, your legs give out and everything goes dark.

"HUMAN!" Papyrus sounds scared you note. _'Silly skeleton'_ , you think, _'you can't be in the guard and care about what happens to a human._ ' "BROTHER, WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?" You can't hear what Sans answers. Finally, too tired to keep fighting it, unconscious claims you.

* * *

 

When you come back to the world, you're laying on a dog bed. What the actual - oh, right. Captured by the skeleton brothers. Great. There's some toys littered around the floor, a bowl of dog food, a note, and those ridiculous bars again. Other than that the room is bare. You should probably go read the note, but every inch of your body is screaming at you. So no - not moving.

As soon as you decide to just go back to sleep, the door opens and Sans strolls in. Great, today just keeps getting better and better. Fainting probably upset Papyrus, which means you're in for a bad time of some sort.

"... are you alright?" Sans looks uncomfortable, his hands shoved in his jacket pockets and his face buried in the fluff of his food.

"I'm alive, so I've got that going for me." Sans pulls his head up and looks at you strangely as if he can't believe what he's hearing. "What? Gotta start with the positives. I'm sore and tired, but I woke up so I'll take it." You can't even believe how nonchalant you sound.

"why didn't you tell us you were hurt? paps thought you fell down - i had to explain what i've read about humans fainting. that's what that was, right?" He pauses and you nod. It seems like you barely blink and Sans is sitting cross-legged on the floor in front you. "so why didn't you tell us? we're fair guys."

You stare at Sans, shocked. "Are you...are you kidding me? The first person I meet after having to rush out of the ruins because someone tipped off the Royal Guard about me, who threatens to take my SOUL if I hurt his brother, expects me to trust him with the information that I'm hurt," you snap, your shock turning into anger, at the skeleton in front of you. "When I tried to tell you after you, ya know, reopened my wounds - you called me rude and vanished, asshole." Red-hot anger is pulsing through you and you groan. You bury your face in your hands once your mind catches up to your mouth. Way to yell at the guy that swore to keep you safe or kill you. Even if he deserved to be yelled at.

"i - err. your back's hurt?" Sans sounds horrified to your surprise. You nod again, face still buried. "be right back."

It feels like barely any times passed at all when Sans returns gently telling you to look at him. He's sitting in front of you again, offering you something. "monster candy, you'll feel better after you eat it," he says, "although since you've been hurt for a while it won't heal your wounds as well." You quickly eat it, feeling the pain instantly fade away.

The silence between you two is awkward and thick enough to choke on. "Thanks.""i need to ask -." Luckily, it seems like Sans is on the same page as you when the two of you try to break the silence at the same time. "Thank you Sans," you say. "What now?"

"can I see your back?" You actually feel your jaw drop. There nerve of this guy. But... Even though he still made you nervous, Sans had given you the candy that healed you and you were wearing a tank top underneath your jacket. What could it hurt? Before Sans can say anything else, you nod and begin to strip. You notice that Sans is looking away, clearly embarrassed. Once your in your tank top, you roll so that he can see your back, and clear your throat. You know he's looking when you hear the sharp intake of breath. "i need to ask -what gave you those and why?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," you start to dodge the question when Sans cuts you off.

"try me."

Sigh. "A psychotic yellow flower told me I was messing things up." Another sharp intake of breath and then an almost pained sigh. "goddamned weed." Sans sounds furious, but unlike when he was threatening you, he just looked tired. Your confusion must show because Sans gives you a humorless chuckle. "i believe you. he pops up and causes problems from time to time. say, paps wants to see you. cover those cuts back up and c'mon in."

* * *

 

Later that night, when you're showered and safe in your own room at the inn, you try to think of plan to get home again. Even though you're out of the ruins, you can't think of anything new that you've learned. ' _No wonder_ ,' you think when you see the time. It's two in the morning. Realizing that there's no planning going on tonight, you think back to your time at the brothers' house. Papyrus had been ecstatic with the fact that you hadn't 'fallen down', whatever that meant, that he immediately offered to forget the last puzzle/human hunting business and to be your friend. You weren't a fan of how he worded it to sound like he did this out of fear for your health, but you weren't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He also offered to let you stay the night on their couch, but you'd insisted on "not being a nuisance". While Sans had been friendlier, you weren't comfortable around him.

Before you knew it, sleep claimed you.

************************

Sans should be sleeping. He knows he needs to, but he can't. So here he is, in his workshop, writing about you in his current journal. God, he feels awful. It's the first time he's ever threatened a human unprovoked (that little outburst with Frisk had been provoked if you asked him – how many times could someone watch their loved ones die without attempting to change fate?) - your LOVE and EXP had all be at zero, so why did he do it? Oh yes, because you're new.

What have the years of resets done to him? This isn't him. Or is it him now? Sans can't tell anymore. Is he a murderer or are his hands still technically clean?

It makes his skull hurt.

You had been hurt and you swallowed it back, not trusting him, rather than tell him so that he could help. When you had fainted, both him and his brother had thought you'd fallen down. He hoped that Papyrus had been freaked out enough to not see him take your pulse – something he learned to do when Frisk was more... murdery. When he had to make sure that Frisk was actually down for the count. They didn't always reset automatically. He'd learned this during one run where he'd knocked them out, but hadn't made sure that they were dead. The pain of a knife slicing across his ribs and spine from behind wasn't something he could forget.

Sans sighs, pulling himself from his memories of Frisk, and puts the journal back into the broken down hunk of junk that is immune to the resets. The machine's presence mocks him and he feels the pull of other bitter memories. No, he isn't doing this tonight. Those memories need to stay dead.

But they don't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So thank you for the feedback yesterday! It's so cool to post this story that's been in my head for days ( _*cough*weeks*cough*_ ) and to have people read it. I may or may not have actually squee'd seeing that people are interested. 
> 
> <3


	6. In Which The Author Runs Out of Wonderland Titles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy mothers day to my fellow mothers (be you human mothers, pet mothers, or soon to be mothers).
> 
> I get to celebrate by my fiance taking Spawn to his mom's for a few hours. SCORE. Breaks are the best.
> 
> \-----  
> Channeling my inner TST with the title. 
> 
> Brief mention of alcohol use in this chapter. Trust me, reader deserves it.

After your encounter with the brothers yesterday, you were sure that you'd be attacked on sight when you left your rented room. When you'd made it to the Snowed Inn last night, too tired to even groan at the pun, wrapped in your jacket and shivering the owner had just shooed you upstairs saying that she'd talk payment when you got up. Instead, everyone had been so nice.The bunny from last night had even had a cinnamon bunny ready for you while the two of you discussed a weekly rate for your room. You'd made some gold in the ruins and it seemed that Tori had padded your pockets before you left as well. You'd need to find a new way to make some gold eventually, but you had some time.

Now, today was the day that you would start to put together a plan. It had to happen. It seemed that Tori had been right when she said that most monsters this far from the capital wouldn't recognize you as a human. Sans had been the only one to recognize you for what you were on sight. Maybe you should try to find Tori's friend? So maybe you could start to ask around – no. Letting on that you didn't know the underground well would be a bad idea. Hmm. The answer hit you like lightning.

Papyrus!

* * *

 

Finding Papyrus hadn't been hard. In fact, you literally ran into him leaving the inn. He'd been on his way to check up on you apparently, worried about you from last night.

"HELLO NEW FRIEND! I'M GLAD TO SEE YOU UP AND ABOUT ALREADY. MY LAZYBONES OF A BROTHER IS STILL SLEEPING." Papyrus really looks at you for a second. "YOU LOOK BETTER, BUT HOW ARE YOU FEELING?"

"G'morning Papyrus. I feel much better."

"I NEED TO PATROL FOR HUMANS THIS MORNING, BUT YOU ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO JOIN ME," you nodded when he paused and Papyrus gave a little jump for joy. "PLUS I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO THE CANINE UNIT. THEY'RE MOSTLY HARMLESS, ALTHOUGH THEY ARE A LITTLE DROOLY..." Papyrus lowered his voice a bit, "I'll help make sure that they don't figure out that you're a human." Huh, so Papyrus could lower his voice.

You and Papyrus made your way towards his sentry station, talking about his training. Each time you'd run into a member of the guard, and _holyshittheywereactuallydogs_ , Papyrus would say that you were a friend that needed a break from the city, they'd smell you, and you'd pet them. Once you were finally at his station and the small talk done, you took a breath and hoped that this time you'd actually get some real answers this time.

"Can you tell me about the rest of the underground Paps? I don't know anything about the different parts really."

"HMMM...WELL, WE'RE IN SNOWDIN NOW. IF YOU KEEP GOING PAST MY HOUSE, YOU'LL WIND UP IN WATERFALL. UNDYNE, THE CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD, LIVES THERE. FROM THERE IS HOTLAND. THE ICE THAT COOLS DOWN THE LAVA FOR OUR CORE ACTUALLY COMES FROM HERE! METTATTON'S HOTEL IS IN HOTLAND TOO. THEN THE LAST DISTRICT IS NEW HOME, THE CAPITAL."

Silence creeps over the two of you, but it's not an uncomfortable one. How big was the underground to fit all those areas in it? How many people were trapped down here? When you look over, ready to ask more specific questions, the look on his face stops you. "Paps? What's wrong?"

The skeleton, that had started to nervously bounce his leg, let out a small "nyeh" before answering. "IT'S JUST THAT HUMANS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE MEAN AND YOU'RE NOT. WE'RE FRIENDS NOW AFTER ALL! BUT UNDYNE IS GOING TO BE SO MAD AT ME."

"She's the captain of the Royal Guard, right?"

"YES AND SHE'S MY BEST FRIEND. SHE'S TRAINING ME TO BE IN THE GUARD AND I JUST KNOW THAT CAPTURING A HUMAN WOULD GET ME IN! BUT YOU'RE NOT LIKE THE HUMANS THAT WE'RE TAUGHT, SO I CAN'T ARREST YOU! YOU'VE DONE NOTHING WRONG."

"What do they teach you about us?" You're curious.

"THAT HUMANS ARE CRUEL. THEY KILL WITHOUT MERCY." His words hurt for reason. Maybe because they aren't exactly wrong. "IS THAT TRUE?"

"I don't want to lie to you Paps – sometimes, yes. But there are good and bad people. The good outnumber the bad, but the bad make more noise."

You nudge the skeleton with your shoulder. "Besides, you seem really determined to get in! With dedication like yours, there's no way that you won't get in." There's a few more beats of silence then -

"NYEH HEH HEH, OF COURSE! I KNOW YOU HAD SOME OF MY LEFTOVERS LAST NIGHT, BUT WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME HAVE FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI WITH ME TONIGHT?" Well, he didn't stay down for long.

You find yourself agreeing without a second thought. What could go wrong with Papyrus there?

* * *

 

Papyrus sure is, uh, passionate about everything. You've barely been this guy's friend for a day and you already trusted him wholeheartedly. Trusting him came naturally. Well, you shouldn't trust him with cooking apparently. His kitchen, err food museum, was covered with what was supposed to be dinner. Pasta was on the ceiling, on the walls, threaded through his bottom ribs and the sauce... Oh the sauce was everywhere. Papyrus looked thoroughly embarrassed as he started on a new pot of noodles.

"MAYBE I STIRRED A LITTLE TOO PASSIONATELY.... WELL, TOO PASSIONATELY FOR A HUMAN TO HANDLE."

"Don't you get _saucy_ with me sir!" Oh, you were proud of this pun.

"ACK. NOT YOU TOO," Papyrus says, sounding distraught. Before you can ask what he was talking about he answers your unspoken question. "MY BROTHER PLAGUES MY LIFE ENOUGH WITH PUNS."

Wait. Sans did puns? You were having trouble picturing the guy that you'd met yesterday being anything but serious.

"aw, bro are you _sick_ of me?" Speak of the devil. Papyrus gave a loud shriek and, oh wait, that was a joke! Who was this guy? When you looked at him, he looked far more relaxed than he did yesterday. He caught your gaze and gave you a small wink, "sup human?"

"Uh, pasta sauce," you giggle as you point at the ceiling and Papyrus flushes orange. Sans wouldn't try anything in front of his brother, so you could let your hair down so to speak.

"It's okay though Paps, I haven't had this much fun cooking before," you admit to the taller skeleton. Papyrus seems to puff up with your praise, still blushing a light orange.

"SANS, DID YOU RECALIBRATE YOUR PUZZLES YET?" Papyrus asks, apparently trying (and failing) to distract you both from the trashed kitchen.

"heh, yep. I used today's crossword this time. Solving it," he pauses as he eyes the damage to the kitchen,"will be im- _pasta_ -ble." You can't help it, you snort out a laugh. You can still be angry at him and find him funny. Papyrus picks up his brother and carts him out of the kitchen. You laugh harder at the sight. There's a small thud and Paps comes back Sans-less.

"Aww Pap," you can't contain yourself, "it looks like you're _sans_ a brother." Oh, you're going to hell. Papyrus's browbone twitches before he starts to laugh at the same time there's a snort followed by loud laughter from living room. "SEE SANS, PUNS CAN BE FUNNY," Papyrus says and more giggles come from the couch, "THEY JUST HAVE TO ACTUALLY BE CLEVER. NOW FRIEND, PASS ME THAT GLITTER..."

Why was there glitter in the kitchen's pantry? Wait, why did Papyrus need it?

* * *

 

Yeah, you can't trust Papyrus in the kitchen. The normal spaghetti ingredients had been lost to his passionate cooking display, so this...monstrosity had been born. Glitter and sequins in pasta. It's unfortunate this isn't the dish on the wall. Papyrus names it the 'Mettaton Special' and is so proud of it. You think that you'd rather meet Undyne than eat a plate of this. He'd immediately gone to fetch Sans, hooked in Papyrus's right arm by his waist (how on earth do skeleton monsters work?), who was currently looking in the pot and visibly wincing. Papyrus seems to think you're feeling left out since before you could process it, you're hooked in his left arm.

At some point during the night, Papyrus had moved their table off of the wall, and he tosses the two of you into chairs at opposite ends of the table from each other. Well, this was going to be awkward. A half a second later, Papyrus places plates of the...food...in front of the two of you. Oh god, Sans had said that he'd kill you if you hurt his brother. Then again this pasta might actually kill you too... Death by food poisoning or death by protective brother?

Death by brother would be quicker at least.

Papyrus books it back to the kitchen and Sans catches your eye. He stares at you, deliberately bringing his left hand up towards his mouth in the universal symbol for 'shush,quiet', and his eyes go dark. Fear bubbles up inside you and he winks while grabbing his fork. There's a crash in the kitchen that breaks whatever spell the shorter skeleton has on you.

"OH, HOW IS IT?" Papyrus looks overjoyed as he leaves the kitchen, eyeing your plate. You go to grab your fork to bravely take a bite when you notice that a large chunk of the pasta is gone. Glancing at Sans, you get the feeling that whatever he just did to get rid of your food happened fairly frequently based on that perfect poker-face he's wearing. You actually go to take a bite and, ugh, it's awful.

"Not bad Paps," you lie through your teeth. It's definitely not bad, it's horrendous. Even with the large chunk of pasta that Sans apparently made vanish, you know that it's going to be a miracle if you don't get sick. Another bite. Ew, there's glitter between your teeth. You'll never complain about popcorn kernels again if you survive this dish.

You manage a few more bites before you lie to Papyrus (again), this time to say that you're full. Maybe if you start cleaning the kitchen it'll get your mind off what you just ate. You're halfway through the frankly impressive number of dishes when Papyrus comes back in.

"OH THANK YOU FRIEND. YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO SUCH TEDIOUS WORK HERE THOUGH. WANT TO SEE SOMETHING NEATO?" You don't get the chance to answer before his eyes are glowing orange. Wha-? A flash of orange later and the room is spotless.

Uh. Somehow you don't think you'll ever get used to magic.

* * *

 

Papyrus had asked if you wanted to stay and watch a Mettaton movie with them, but you just told the fib (not a full lie, just a slight exaggeration) that you were tired. You just didn't think that you could handle seeing whatever, or whomever, had inspired that pasta dish. Even just thinking about that dish made your stomach twist. Humans weren't meant to consume sequins apparently.

You're laying in your bed at the inn, debating if you should try to eat something else to settle your stomach, when there's two sharp knocks on your door.

"who's there?"

"lettuce." A knock knock joke? Sans?

"Lettuce who?"

"lettuce go get some real dinner." Definitely Sans.

Your stomach churns at the thought of food and you slowly make your way to the door. When you open it, Sans is standing there with his hands in his pockets. He looks incredibly tense, he seems to be sweating actually, and you almost think he looks nervous.

"Umm, why?" Even though this evening had been fun and you weren't actively worried about him murdering you anymore, you could still feel gravity pushing into you a bit from yesterday. You shudder, trying to shake off the memory.

"well paps's cooking lessons haven't quite taught him that some things shouldn't been in food," you give him a dirty look that he notices, "and uh, i owe you dinner at the very least for how i treated you yesterday." Sans now looks thoroughly uncomfortable. "i'd like to start over again, if you'd let me. ya know how i said that i don't usually make promises? well, there's something i do even less than that."

"What's that?" You're still annoyed with him and, if you're really honest with yourself, still slightly scared of him, but at the same time...After even after just one day with Papyrus you get it. You want to protect him too. You can hear Sans out at the least. He'd made most of the food disappear after all and Tori had threatened you too come to think of it. Real food doesn't sound half bad actually, especially if he's treating.

"apologize. so i'm sorry. i shouldn't have threatened you at all and i damn sure shouldn't have used magic on you. it's just that you're a human – everything that we've ever been told about humans is that you're dangerous," he trails off. "shit -now I'm just making excuses. i'm just...sorry."

"Hey," your voice is quiet, "I get it. I get why you did it. It doesn't make it right, but it makes it make sense." Sans offers you a small smile. "So I don't forgive you completely yet, but I do accept your apology. Start over?" You offer your hand to him. "I'm ---. --- the human."

Sans grins and grabs your hand, a loud fart sound echoing throughout the inn. "sans. sans the skeleton. now how about some grillby's buddy?"

"Do they serve glitter and sequins?" Sans shakes his head. "Perfect."

* * *

 

Grillby's is quite the happening pub. There's a few faces that you haven't seen yet along with the entire canine unit. Everyone shouts out a hello to Sans, although the canines make a point to say hi to you too. Sans hops up on a bar stool and taps the one next to him.

The bartender starts to head over toward the two of you when he sees you and comes to a full stop. Shit, the way that he's looking at you...Does he know?

"fuck, i forgot he was pre-war," Sans hisses under his breath. "grillbz, it's fine! i know and she's good." The second part is loud enough so that the bartender can hear him. The others at the bar hear him too, but they just look confused. The bartender, and apparently owner, Grillby takes a few steps closer. He slowly reaches out to you cups your chin, forcing you to look in his eyes. When you had first seen Grillby when you walked in, you assumed that he would be solid despite being made of flames. Per usual in this wonderland, you were wrong. He was nothing but fire, fire molded into a humanoid shape, his touch pleasantly warm on your face. Magic sure was something.

"grillbz?" Sans sounds incredibly confused.

Grillby leaned a little closer, coming directly between you and Sans. "Are you sure Sans?" Grillby's voice is low and raspy. Sans must have nodded since Grillby immediately spoke again, "well than, welcome human." You gulp as Grillby pulls away. Unlike the bone brothers, Grillby hadn't sounded menacing in the least. He'd seemed more intrigued than anything. Glancing over at Sans, you see that he looks absolutely floored. You gathered that whatever had just happened wasn't normal.

"What brings the two of you in this late?" The red bird at the other end chirps loudly.

"papyrus got...creative with dinner tonight." Well Sans, that's one way to put it. "he created something that he's named the 'mettaton special'." Grillby shudders, flames dancing dramatically, and the bird, err Bird you guessed, made a face. "and it's exactly what it sounds like."

Grillby crackles and Bird looks at you and asks what sort of drinks you like. You answer Bird and before you can ask why, Grillby places a drink down in front of you. You take a small sip, taste the alcohol, and let out a pleasured sigh. Grillby crackles again and Bird, who is apparently Grillby's translator, tells you that two Grillby specials will be up soon. You like this Grillby guy. Next to you, Sans squirts some ketchup in his mouth and mirrors your sigh.

"Ketchup? Seriously?" Sans shrugs.

"what can I say? I _relish_ in people's reactions."

* * *

 

An hour later, Sans was walking you back to the inn. Despite your initial trepidation, you'd had a great time with what you'd found out was the older bone brother. The burger had been the best thing you'd ever eaten period, the drinks were amazing (you'd insisted on paying for those yourself, since like above, the drinks were what got you on the bill), the bartender was hot (both you and Sans had made this joke to him tonight. He'd just winked lewdly at you both, which shocked Sans) and the company was fun. Everyone in the bar was friendly and Sans. Oh man, Sans was hilarious.

"Thanks for making me go back out," you say, breathless from laughing.

"thanks for giving me a chance," Sans sounds pleased. He should be, he'd made you choke twice while eating.

When you reach the door to the inn, you feel a tad bit awkward. This felt date-ish. It shouldn't all things considered, but it did.

"I'll see you around Sans." Oh this was awkward.

"hey, remember. not a word to paps," he'd explained in the bar how it would break his brothers heart to learn that you'd gone out after his special dinner, "and thanks for the second chance again. really."

********************

Sans shortcuts directly into his workshop in front of the machine that holds his journals, his bones nearly rattling in excitement. Tonight, with the exception of Paps dinner, couldn't have gone better. Actually... He remembers the look on your face when he'd shot the pasta directly to the garbage dump and decides that Papyrus's dinner had added to the night. You'd made a joke out of his name.

His soul is singing. He's trying to shut it up, but he can't. Hope is dangerous.

He grabs his current journal and a pen while he thinks about what he should write about you. He likes you already - for the first time in what feels like countless resets he wants a human's friendship. Maybe it was because you were new, maybe it was because you were kind, or maybe it was because you seemed to genuinely like Papyrus; hell, he didn't care why. He likes you and he wants that to be enough.

He begins to write, allowing himself the hope that you were a sign that things were changing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't Papyrus very well yet, but hot damn do I Iove me some Grillbz.
> 
> If you ate the Mettaton Special Pasta, you'd forgive Sans automatically if he took you out for real food too.


	7. Legwork (Part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of past abuse in this chapter. Abusive relationship to be specific.

Maybe it was the lack of day/night cycle, maybe it was the danger, or maybe it was just because you were genuinely happy; the next few days blur together. Despite what you'd said about not forgiving Sans yet, that next morning it was like his threat had never happened. You and the brothers were damn near inseparable.

Your days were predictable, but that didn't mean boring by a long shot. You'd explore the forest and train with Papyrus during the day. Sometimes Sans would join you two (by join, you mean he walks around the forest – hell would probably freeze over before he started jogging with you and Paps). Around dinner time you'd "absolutely one hundred percent" need to take a shower back at the inn, then you and Sans would go to Grillbys or you'd go watch some TV with them both.

Tonight was your first Mettaton movie - 'Mettaton the Movie X' and it was a blatant and horrid knock off of both Back to the Future and Donnie Darko. Two movies that never should have been mixed. Papyrus looks enamored, Sans looks annoyed, and you are appalled.

"that's not even how science works! it's not a scientific 'theory' until it's been tested repeatedly -!" Sans normal grin is more like a grimace. Wait a minute, is his mouth moving?

"SANS, IT'S BEEN OVER A YEAR SINCE YOU WORKED IN A LAB," Papyrus says, clearly annoyed with Sans commentary. "SCIENCE VERY WELL MAY HAVE CHANGED SINCE YOU STARTED YOUR...WHAT DID YOU CALL IT?"

"career break." No, you weren't imaging it. Sans was frowning. Skeleton monsters are weird. "i needed a break Paps, i was working myself down to the _bone_."

"SANS!"

"what? It was a _skele-ton_ of work."

"SANS! CAN WE JUST ENJOY A MOVIE WITHOUT YOUR PUNNING?"

Sans looks ready to retort with something not so nice.

"hey bonehead, wanna play some cards?" You intervene, it was time to break whatever this was up. Who knew a stupid movie would get under their proverbial skin (ha)? Sans nods so quickly that you're almost shocked his spine didn't snap. "Don't worry Paps, I'll make sure to still pay attention to the movie." The two of you head to the table, Sans digging some cards out of his pocket from who knows where. By this point you just assume that his pockets are little black holes.

"Alright numbskull, what the fuck was that?" You make sure to whisper low enough so that Papyrus can't hear.

"i don't know what you're talking about." You stare at him as he deals the cards, not impressed with his answer. "fine. i don't like mettaton very much and i really don't like this movie in particular." No jokes – someone's in a bad mood.

"Clearly, but I was talking about something else. Your face moved earlier."

"faces do that," he says. Flippant bastard.

"Sans."

"yours does."

"Sans. My skull doesn't move, my muscles do."

"maybe yours is broken," he whispers dryly, a playful glint in his eye again.

"Really now?" Papyrus shoots you a look – oops, too loud – before he goes back to his movie. You lower your voice again and say, "I'll give you a broken skull." Sans is grinning like a madman, clearly whatever tension this movie had created was gone. His eyes search your face for a second, looking for who knows what, but he apparently finds what he was searching for. His grin drops, he opens his mouth, and sticks a blue tongue out at you.

What the actual fuck?

The look on your face must really be something because Sans snorts out laughing at you. Papyrus lets out an angry "SHHH" from the couch which only makes Sans laugh harder. With his head thrown back and mouth open wide, you can make out two incredibly sharp canines from the cyan glow of his tongue. You'd expected to be able to see into his mouth from his chin, but to your surprise he was solid there too.

"sorry paps! skeleton _monster_ ," he repeats his words from when you first met him once he calms down a bit. "emphasis on monster. i might be _dead_ lazy, but i'm alive." Skeleton monsters are weird.

"HEY!" Whoops, had you said that out loud? Sans is laughing again and Papyrus walks over, clearly giving up on watching the movie. "WE AREN'T WEIRD. HUMANS ARE WEIRD. AFTER ALL YOU ARE SKELETON SHAPED."

"Uh, Paps? I'm part skeleton. All humans are." Shock colors Papyrus's skull as he joins you two at the table, the cards long forgotten. Sans looks interested, but not surprised. "Think of it like... instead of a battle body, mine is wearing organs, muscles, and skin." You offer Papyrus your bare arm and he takes a hold of it, squeezing gently.

"I FEEL IT! SANS, DID YOU KNOW THIS ABOUT HUMANS?"

Sans gives a low "uh-huh" as he watches you two. You don't miss the fondness in his eyes. "i learned a bit about human biology at the lab." Papyrus has moved to your fingers, examining them. "You were a scientist?" You'd thought that Papyrus had been exaggerating a bit, but apparently not. How old were these guys? Sans didn't seem much older than you – maybe he had been interning?

"yeah, i worked in the lab with alphys and our old man for a while," Sans shrugs, "then there was an accident and i needed a break." You recognized that tone of his, that forced nonchalance.

You know better than to ask questions.

You offer Sans your arm as soon as Papyrus finishes his examination to be fair. Sans, unlike Papyrus, doesn't explore. He simply places two fingers on the inside of your wrist , checking your pulse you realize. You know from your time with Tori that you should ask whatever questions you have now, but... Asking about their dad and an accident seems incredibly personal. Hadn't Paps said it'd been only about a year ago too?

"I THINK DAD WOULD BE PROUD OF US SANS." San's head snaps towards Papyrus. "IN ONLY A YEAR WE HAVE A NEW HOME, NEW FRIENDS, AND NEW JOBS. WE'RE HAPPIER THAN WE WERE IN THE CAPITAL. AREN'T WE?" Papyrus sounds worried. You feel like you're intruding on a private conversation now.

"yeah, you're right paps. i'm happier now too bro," Sans says quietly. "now let's introduce ---- to mettaton. she can't pass as one of us without knowing him after all."

Papyrus agrees wholeheartedly and you feel a surge of love for both of them - "one of us" he'd said. The three of you plop down on the couch, you in the middle, where you're introduced to Mettaton. During the movie, you grab both the brothers' hands. Papyrus smiles a million watt smile that you feel in your SOUL and Sans cheekbones turn a bright cyan. In this moment, you've found home.

' _But_ ,' your SOUL whispers, ' _how is it fair that your home is where your friends are stuck?_ '

* * *

 

Sneaking out of Snowdin is probably a grade-a bad idea, but you've explored most of the town already and come up empty on a plan. You have to start moving forward. You just want to get an idea for the lay of the land and maybe some new information. It's early in the morning when you sprint past the brothers house. Papyrus had probably left around ten minutes ago to head to his post (so he'd still be an hour early to his shift) and Sans was probably still sleeping. Guilt nestles uncomfortably in your stomach for leaving at a time where you know they won't immediately catch you. If they knew you were doing this, you knew that this wouldn't happen.

The first thing you notice when you pass the sign marked 'Waterfall' is that it's almost immediately warmer. The snow ends abruptly where the cave narrows – Waterfall seems to be a cave within a cave. You shake off a feeling of claustrophobia, it's almost easy to forget that you're underground in Snowdin, and enter the narrowed area. Just like Snowdin, Waterfall is breathtaking. Multicolored gems cover the walls and ceiling like stardust, giving it an ethereal feeling.

"Hey ----!" You wave when you see that it's MK - the armless little lizard monster from Snowdin.

"Hey MK," you say, trying to match his enthusiasm. "What are you doing out and about so early on a Saturday?"

"I want to see Undyne kick some butt! She patrols daily and it's been ages since I've seen her." MK gives a dramatic groan that makes you giggle.

"Go find her then, silly!"

MK grins and says that he'll see you around.

"See ya around ---," something echoes. You shudder and keep going, feeling like you're entering the lions den.

* * *

 

Waterfall certainly lives up to its name. You've waded through two waterfalls (and at this point, you look kind of silly - you're walking around shoe-less, jacket tied around your hips, and jeans rolled up as far as they'll go so that you won't catch hypothermia on your way back home later) and just feel lost. How is this cave so big? You're lost in your own little world when something hits you in the stomach.

"Wha- MK, what are you doing? That hurt!"

"Sorry," MK doesn't sound sorry in the least, "but I found her! C'mon, let's watch her!' MK runs into some tall grass. If you had any sense of self preservation, you'd turn on your heel and walk away. Spying on the person that you wanted to avoid the most sounded like a terrible idea.

Then again, if you had any sense of self preservation, you wouldn't be here in the first place. You'd be on the surface still.

You dash into the grass, finding MK and sitting next to them.

"GOOD MORNING UNDYNE!" Papyrus? "HOW DID YOU SLEEP LAST NIGHT?" Oh man, Papyrus must be reporting in to Undyne today. You can't hear Undyne answer, just the tap of metal from higher ground. "NO UNDYNE, NO SIGN OF A HUMAN OUTSIDE OF THE RUINS YET." Oh thank goodness - he wasn't selling you out. You knew he hated lying to her and didn't understand why he couldn't just play mediator between the two of you. Sweet summer child.

There's an angry clang from above and you feel something charged enter the room. What was -? A suit of armor was peering down over the edge, one yellow eye, or at least you think it's an eye, glowing down over you. Was that Undyne? Panic bubbles in you as she scans the grass, you tense, and a hand clamps over your mouth. You're too scared to scream. Shit, you shouldn't have -

"do you want to die ----?" A familiar voice breathes near your ear. Sans? "because this is a great way to get yourself killed. i'm going to move my hand once she's gone, you're going to act normal for mk, and then we're gonna go have a little chat, got it?" You agree, already thinking up a counter "you're not my fucking supervisor" argument, when you feel static crackling in the air again. You look back up at Undyne and she's summoned an aqua colored spear into her right hand. She's looking at the grass suspiciously when Papyrus finally asks what she's looking for. The spear - and her- vanish into thin air.

"WHOA!" MK is beside himself, "did you see that? She was looking for a bad guy. How lucky are we? Oh, hi Sans! Bye guys - I gotta go find her again." MK's gone before you could blink, let alone talk.

Sans's hand is long gone from your mouth but somehow you can't find the words now. You can feel the irritation rolling of him. You wonder if your ability to sense emotions down here has to do with everyone's magic.

"do you trust me?" Sans startles you out of your thoughts.

"Yes." God help you, you did. It started when he'd taken you to Grillby's that first time and over the past weeks had grown into real trust.

"then take my hand and close your eyes. we're going to go somewhere where undyne won't immediately find us to talk." Sans is beyond angry, you notice, as he punches some keys on his phone before shoving it back in his pocket. His normal grin is gone, he's openly frowning at you as he offers you a gloved hand. You sigh softly and follow his orders.

As soon as you close your eyes, you feel like you're falling. Not a normal fall though; it's like when you feel like you're falling right before you asleep or when you miss a stair. As soon as your feet hit solid ground again, you open your eyes to find yourself somewhere else entirely. It's clearly still Waterfall, but it's a small area with a bench that looks like it should only be accessible by swimming.

"What. The. Fuck." Deep breath. Your heart is pounding. "Sans. What was that?"

"i could ask you the same question."

"I was coming back I promise! I just..." Sans sockets narrow at you as your voice trails off, "I just need to start moving forward again."

"why?" San's tone is strange – strangled almost. "every other human that's tried to leave has died."

"Why are you stopping me? If I die, you'll be free. I'll be the seventh SOUL."

"i don't want to be the one that has to explain to paps why we're suddenly free and you're not around." Oh. "and i've seen enough death to last several lifetimes," he mumbles so low you that you barely catch it. "i don't want to see someone else i care about die."

Sans plops down on the bench, the angry posture instantly gone. Teasing him about caring about you is on the tip of your tongue before what the rest of what he says clicks. He's seen other people he cares about die. You think that you can pry a bit as you join him on the bench.

"The accident you mentioned the other night?" You guess.

Sans nods. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," you add, "but sometimes it helps." He looks at you oddly at this and you feel the unspoken question in the air. "Around two years ago I met someone," your throat feels tight – you haven't told anyone besides a professional this story yet, "we hit it off and things were great at first. I was in love, you know? It took a while but... Well, uh, suffice to say that humans are good at being shitty to each other too. We're cunning like that. When I finally got away a year later, I was alone. They took everything from me and I hadn't even noticed until it was too late."

"they hurt you?" Sans sounds so painfully innocent in this moment that you almost think about brushing it off.

Why lie though? "In more ways than one. It's almost funny how the physical wounds are the least damaging." You feel him watching you now, but you can't bare to face him. Your therapist had told you that admitting this didn't make you weak, but it sure made you feel it.

"… and i threatened you. how are we fri – how do you trust me?"

"No Sans, we're friends. You couldn't have known. I try not to advertise 'hey all – severely damaged human here' to the masses." You reach out and give his hand a squeeze.

*********************

Sans feels like garbage. He wonders what all you're leaving out, but knows better than to ask. You would tell him when you were ready if you wanted to. He had threatened to kill you unprovoked (something that he, despite your reassurances that night after Grillby's, was still struggling with) and you just called him a friend. You'd opened up a bit to him. He can't tell you everything, no one would believe him about the resets, but he could give you something. He wanted to give you something.

"first off my dad, gaster, wasn't a normal monster. he was from...somewhere else. he popped into this dimension sometime before the war. he claimed he couldn't remember where up until the day of the accident," he takes a breath to look over at you. You look so confused and it's absolutely precious to him. "not all monsters age like humans. some of us do, some of us don't. boss monsters like the king age very slowly. gaster happened to be one of the ones that aged slow. when the war ended he was appointed royal scientist as soon as the barrier shut basically."

He pauses to give you a second to digest this. To his surprise, you just gesture him to continue.

"uh, you're taking the aging thing well. anyways, gaster started experimenting to take down the barrier. he was brilliant and not being able to take down the barrier must have got to him. around the time first human child fell, he started to lose his mind a bit apparently according to asgore. he eventually started playing with something human SOULs possess naturally – determination. no idea how the crazy fucker got the idea to extract it, but he did. it lead to him actually creating the core that powers the underground. anyways, around this time he decided that he needed an extra pair of hands. so he made me."

"Made you?"

"i'm an imperfect clone of the bastard. so is paps." God, this was hard to admit.

"He was working on genetic mutation?" You look shocked. "That's...wow, that's something. Cloning yet creating an individual. That's remarkable. Sorry, that was probably tactless." You're blushing again.

"nah, you're good. told ya, gaster was brilliant. he played enough with magic to insure that i got his smarts and his knack for void magic. that's how we got here by the way, took a shortcut through the void. a few years later, gaster realized that he shouldn't put all his faith in one son. so he played with magic again, ensuring that paps could be a human hunting and killing machine. "

"But Paps -"

"i raised paps for the most part. gaster lost his damn mind when the sixth child died around fifteen years ago. he couldn't stay away from the core after that. eventually... he fell in. or whatever." You look lost. Right, you hadn't seen the core yet. "the core is in hotland which is covered in lava."

He watches understanding start to creep up on your face. "You think he jumped, don't you?"

"yup, but here's where things get weird. something strange happened and i don't know why. only those of us that were close to him remember him."

"What?"

"only me, paps, alphys, and asgore can really remember him. everyone else knows that there was another royal scientist before alphys, but the can't remember anything about him. when they try to remember details they get really bad headaches and just kind of go," he struggles with how to describe it. "it's like they overload for a few minutes and then they don't remember trying to remember him."

Sans is so lost in thought that when you wrap your arms around him, he jumps. He's waiting for the part where you say he's lying (he's not, but the accusation would hurt) or call him out on hiding something (he is, but he's not going to share _that_ yet if ever). It doesn't come and he leans into you. You were right. It felt good to share it with someone else. Papyrus doesn't always remember all the details since he only knew gaster as dad and gaster hadn't had a chance to – No. He isn't going down that road in front of you. He could probably talk to Alphys, but that meant going back to the lab. He wasn't ready for that.

"Does Pap know what he was designed for?" You sound so concerned for his brother and it warms his SOUL. He wants to relax in your arms for a little longer, but when he closes his sockets to truly relax, he sees the red-eyed Frisk mocking him. He feels himself tense and he begins to pull away from you.

"nah, i don't even think he knows he was designed. i can't bring myself to spell it out for him anymore than i can tell him that being in the guard means killing humans to get their SOULs. i don't have the _heart_ for it."

"Aww," you take his hint, letting him go, "but you have all sorts of _backbone_."

"still don't have the _guts_ ," he deadpans. The two of you laugh together, as the tension leaves you both.

"c'mon human, paps was worried. let's go home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, Reader. You really suck at being sneaky.


	8. Legwork (part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Talking about the war, so mentions of death. Also mentions of drinking. 
> 
> I'm not (currently) trying to make you an alcoholic, but you're stuck in a small town that has a library and a bar. *shrugs* Not like there's much else to do, ya know?

Papyrus was as close to furious as he could get with you. By that, he was "very disappointed in you" which somehow made Sans's fury look like mild annoyance. He might not know that you'd end up dead, but he did seem to know that meeting Undyne would be hazardous to your health. For the next few days, neither of the guys were ever far off. Papyrus had organized a few "sleepovers" at their place as well as arranging you to patrol with him or for you to make sure that Sans actually did some work when he had sentry duty in Snowdin. You humored them both, knowing that they meant well.

By night five of your odd house arrest, you needed some time away from them. You needed to be able to stretch your legs without Papyrus popping up or feeling Sans watching over you. Sans had to work a shift in Hotland tonight, which meant that you and Paps had spent the night cooking various kinds of spaghetti. You needed a drink to say the least.

"Well, Paps it's getting late. I'm going to head back to the inn," you say with a yawn.

"OF COURSE! LET ME WALK YOU HOME!" The sweet skeleton locks his hand around your elbow, as he escorts you out the door. You wonder what the two of you must look like walking like this - he's well over a foot taller than you are. When you get to the inn you say goodnight to Papyrus, you hang out in the lobby for about five minutes talking to Bunny, and then walk back out towards Grillby's.

_'Sorry Paps.'_

"Good evening -----." His bar was dead tonight – most of the regulars had gone home for the night and the few stragglers were in the booths, drinking and playing cards.

"Heya Grillby!" It's been a few days since you had seen the fire elemental. "Can I get a drink? Dealer's choice."

Grillby smiles at you and nods. Over the past few weeks, Grillby had discovered a fun experiment that you were more than happy to be a part of. The experiment of how monster alcohol affects humans was a fun one for all parties involved. You'd also learned how to, for the most part, read his expressions and moods from the way his flames crackled. "Where have you been?"

"Are you asking because you don't know or because you want me to admit how dumb I am?" Grillby, despite his regal appearance, was a crafty little shit for lack of better term. Maybe it was because Sans had introduced you, maybe it was because you were a human, but it seemed like he was incredibly fond of you. You got the sneaking suspicion that even though you were new, he considered you a friend. So instead of the professional bartender that a good chunk of Snowdin got – you got a wise guy.

"I want you to admit it."

"Too bad. If I did, you'd tell Sans." You glare at him playfully. "I won't have defeat admitted so easily."

Grillby laughs as he sets a glass down in front of you. It's a pale green color and, in typical showman fashion, he sets the drink of fire. "Show off," you grumble as you take a swig. "Delicious as usual, Grillbz." Grillby seems to light up a bit at your praise.

You sip your drink slowly, relaxing into the bar stool. Grillby goes into the back, presumably to start cleaning the kitchen, and you find yourself just closing your eyes and listening to the sounds of the bar. This is the best bar you've been to, hands down. It's warm, the other bar goers are always kind, and it smells wonderful - like pine, you think. After a few minutes you hear the door open and close once more. You think that Sans has found you, but when you turn around you notice that it's just you now. Grillby comes back behind the bar and sets another drink down in front of you.

"Don't I need to go?" You eye the new orange concoction dubiously. If it's closing time already, you'll split. Time apparently flies when you're stuck with an enthusiastic jailer. You hadn't even noticed that it was as late (or as early) as it was.

"No, stay. I wanted to talk to you alone actually, " he says, sounding hesitant at first. "What are you trying to do? Sans thinks you have a death wish."

"I don't have a death wish," you snort, "that's why I'm trying to be careful. Failing at it, but I'm trying. I just... I want to help you guys, but I'd like to live to see the surface again too." Grillby looks at you from across the bar like no one has ever looked at you before. Pure and unbridled passion. It makes you feel powerful and self conscious all at once. You lick your lips out of nervousness and Grillby sighs. His flames dim considerably as the passion fades from him.

"Forgive me. You remind me of my late wife. You have the same...spunk. You even look like her in the face a bit." Grillby cups your face like he did on the first night you met him again and your heart races. The voice in your head is telling you to run, but you squash it down. Grillby is a good guy, you're safe. He won't try anything.

Dammit, you thought you were past this.

"What happened to her?" Grillby's warm hand on your face is calming. You hope he doesn't sense the fear in your system.

"The war," Grillby fills those two simple words with so much sorrow that your SOUL gives a sympathetic throb.

"Are you a boss monster?" You're curious – the war must have been ages ago, so Grillby must be ancient.

Grillby gives your cheek a gentle stroke before finally removing his hand as he chuckles. "No, my dear. Elementals by nature are a long lasting. I'm eight hundred years old give or take – after a century or two, the exact number doesn't matter. I'm the equivalent of around forty human years if that helps." Holy shit. Grillby gives a gentle laugh at the look on your face. You stutter out how he looks good for being as old as he is and he laughs in earnest.

"Can you tell me about the war?" You ask after a few moments of silence.

"It's still a raw area for me, but I can try. I knew I'd lose my wife, but to lose her so soon... and our children," he trails off softly. "She was human, like you. She loved everything and saw nothing but good and beauty in the world. We had a little one and another on the way when the war broke out. If it had just been her and our Aedus, we would have been separated but she would have lived and I would have a son down here with me. But with her expecting another 'abomination'… She was made an example of."

"Oh God, Grillby, I'm so sorry." You feel sick.

"Thank you." Grillby gives you a gentle look and gestures to the bar stool next to you. "May I?"

"Please." Grillby pours himself a drink and sits next to you. "It's nice to talk about her. So many monsters are younger than the war – they don't understand loving a human. They just don't get it. No monster actually hates humanity you see, they hate what has been done to us. Hating doesn't come naturally to our kind. I don't even think that the King even wants war anymore." Grillby takes a long gulp of his drink. "Besides, war would be pointless now. The humans that did this to us are long dead."

"How long has it been?"

"Five hundred years."

You decide that no matter how curious you are, you won't ask Grillby any more questions about the war. He'd lost his family. You refuse to make him relive painful memories just to answer questions that might give you an idea on how to get yourself and the others out of here.

The two of you ease into a companionable silence, sipping on your drinks. Five hundred years of an entire group of people being trapped underground. Some of them old enough to remember the surface, but also generations that only had stories to go on. It was beyond cruel.

"Grillbz... what can I do? Is there any hope?"

He doesn't answer at first.

"Speak to Doctor Alphys. If there is anyone who can come up with an alternative, it's her. She's brilliant in her own way. You'll probably have to get through Undyne to get to her though," Grillby chuckles at the panicked sound you make. "Do the guys have you worried about her? She's tough, but she's also passionate and eventually reasonable. She's hard headed, but so are you. You can get through to her."

You chug the rest of your drink, tiredness creeping up on you for real this time.

"Thanks Grillbz. Can I help you clean?" He thinks about it for a second and simply says, "if you don't mind." The two of you work on cleaning the bar together. He sweeps, you mop. You clean the dishes, he cleans the liquor cabinet. It doesn't take the two of you long to finish. You reach into your pockets and hand Grillby some gold for the drinks, which he tries to decline since you helped him clean.

"Nah Grillbz, the money is yours," you say.

He escorts you to the door, grumbling about accepting your money. You're trudging through the snow when you hear him call out to you.

"Hey -----," you whip around to face him.

"There's always hope."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Grillby is my other potential OOC headcanon brainchild. He was orignally just going to be sort of stoic plot fodder, but then _this_ happened. I took his little quip in-game, added to to the fact that you don't let someone have a ridiculous tab like I'm sure that Sans has without being friends, and to be friends with the short skelly you probably need a pretty good sense of humor. Add in some pixie dust, and -BAM!- firey sassafrass bartender. With a tragic backstory because why not?


	9. Undying Dedication

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spawn napped like an infant is supposed to for once which let me write two chapters today, so have another chapter!

A week after your private talk with Grillby and you still had no ideas on how to get to Alphys. Well, that's a lie. You have one idea. It involves gallivanting into Waterfall, possibly the same way as the last time. You'd had a better idea, but it seems like _someone_ had paid off the Riverperson to not take you anywhere by yourself. The same someone that you suspect, if you do rush into Waterfall proverbial guns a'blazin, that would lock you in their 'guest house'. In fact, you're right back where you were a week ago: the lone patron in Grillby's late at night, on a bar stool, nursing a beverage, with no idea what to do.

At least this week you didn't need an escort wherever you went.

Grillby is making you your second drink when the door chimes. By watching him, you can tell it Sans that comes in. Anyone else would get a firm yet gentle "kitchen's closed and it's last call", but Sans just gets what you're pretty sure is an eye roll. You don't even need to turn around to know you're right since Grillby tosses some ketchup up onto the bar next to you.

"hey ----, what do you and a fish have in common?"

"No idea Sans."

"you and the fish both drink constantly."

You groan at his joke about your drinking habits. "You'd drink a lot if you were under house arrest. "

One of your favorite and least favorite things about Grillby is how much he sees. He can read people incredibly well which makes him a fantastic bartender as well as friend. Right now he's looking between the two of you with an expression that lets you know that he sees something. You see the flash of an almost demonic grin which he quickly smothers. You're about to ask what's got him so worked up -

"Are you two busy in the morning? " Grillby sounds incredibly innocent, which means he's up to no good.

"Not really," you say, intrigued. Your curiosity is going to get you into trouble one of these days, but you absolutely have to know what that grin was about.

"yeah, i have sentry duty in waterfall first thing. whatcha need grillbz?"

"Ah, well four extra hands would have been nice but two extra is better than none. ----, can you accompany me to Temmie Village in the morning? I need to see a guy about a mushroom order."

You could kiss Grillby right now. He was helping you into Waterfall. From what you can see of Sans out of the corner of your eye, you can tell he's pissed by the way gripping the ketchup bottle. "Yes," you blurt out. You hope you don't sound too excited.

Sans makes a strangled noise and Grillby glares. "I'm not going to let any harm come to her Sans," Grillby huffs out. To you he simply says, "meet me here at nine?"

"It's a date," you say.

The three of you relax for another hour before you all go your separate ways for the night. Sans is awfully quiet for the rest of the evening.

"be careful, will ya?"

* * *

 

You almost couldn't sleep you were so excited. You'd been stuck with no progress for so long that it was like being a kid at Christmas all over again. If Christmas meant flirting with danger and/or death and if Santa was a rather attractive fire elemental leading you into said danger and/or death.

Grillby meets you outside of his restaurant, grinning when he spots you. He says nothing, just offers you his arm. You take it and he leads you away from the entrance to Waterfall – you're confused at first, but you quickly realize that you're heading towards the Riverperson.

"uh, Grillby? The Riverperson won't take me anywhere. I think Sans may have paid them off," you grumble as you approach them. Grillby crackles out a laugh.

"Tra la la, hello Grillby and ----. To Waterfall? Tra la la," they sing to you both.

To your surprise, the Riverperson lets you aboard right away when Grillby crackles something to them.

"Tra la la, I only can't escort you alone, dear human," the Riverperson sings again. You freeze as the boat takes off faster than you thought it could. The Riverperson called you a human. Shit. "I don't care what you are. I don't interfere with this realm, no matter what's going on. Tra la la."

This realm? Before you can ask anything more, not that they'd answer, you were in Waterfall. Grillby takes your arm again and leads you deeper into the area than you'd been before. You're about to be pulled off the trail that Grillby had lit up when he stops.

"I should warn you about Temmie Village," he says finally. "But I'm not going to."

* * *

 

Grillby's one sentence in English to you this morning had struck terror into your heart. You'd been prepared for danger. Not... _this_. He's such a shit.

Temmies are possibly the only monsters stranger than skeleton monsters. Endearing, but strange. When Grillby starts to get into a serious discussion with a sentient dancing mushroom (which from what could gather between Grillbz's angry sounding crackles and a defensive sounding mushroom, someone had lost track of what day it was and what Grillby had actually ordered), you tap his shoulder and murmur that you're going to head toward Hotland.

"Be careful," he whispers, "and head towards the right to get to Hotland."

"Aren't I always?" You quip, but he's already arguing with the Mushroom again.

* * *

 

You're alone for the first time in ages, moving forward in almost total darkness, when it hits you that this might not have been the greatest idea. You should have waited for Grillby to finish so the two of you could take the Riverperson to Hotland together, but you'd been too impatient.

This realization, which hits you on a narrow bridge, comes too late.

"You... you're a human," the voice behind you is gruff yet feminine.

"Last time I checked, yep. You're Undyne, right?" You're oddly calm as you turn to face her. She's wearing that suit of armor again, but now you can tell she's tall. She's got at least a foot on you in height.

"Yeah," she says, clearly thrown off.

"I want to talk to you about -" you're cut off as she summons a spear.

"No talking, just fighting."

For the first time since Tori had you "fight" the dummy, your SOUL emerges from your body. You almost whimper – it has been well over a month since you'd had to do anything with your SOUL and you feel empty without it. When you regain your wits, Undyne is looking at you with an odd look.

"What's wrong with your SOUL, punk?"

"Wrong with it?"

"Yeah it's – you know what, it doesn't matter. You're about to die and free us all!" Undyne growls and hurls spears at your SOUL. You pull away, but still get nicked by one.

Ow. You've never felt pain like this before. It's physical, mental, and possibly spiritual pain all rolled into one. You want to scream. You want to cry. You want to never feel anything like it again.

Your first real fight in the Underground is with the captain of Royal Guard. Yeah, you really didn't plan this excursion very well.

"Undyne, I don't want to fight! I just want to talk to Alphys," you say, hoping to reason with her. This was apparently not the right thing to say.

"You're not getting anywhere near her alive human!" She swings at you again. For a second, you're thrilled. You'd just successfully dodged one of her attacks – or not. Your SOUL turns a neon green and just like that, you can't move. Your SOUL in that next second, forms a shield in front of you. You focus and, yes, you can move the shield.

"Please Undyne -"

"NO," Undyne throws off her helmet and you're bombarded by spears coming at you from different directions. Somehow you keep up. Looking at her once the barrage lets up, you see that she's a fish monster. Her skin is blue (or are they scales?), her right eye is bright yellow, her left is covered by a left eye-patch, and her bright red hair is pulled up into a high ponytail. You'd probably think she was pretty if it wasn't for the scowl on her face.

"I'm not going to fight," is all you say to her.

"Then you'll die where you stand for sure."

Another round of dodging spears. After you yet again somehow manage to dodge all of them, your SOUL goes back to what it looked like before. Whatever was holding you in place lets up. Words are doing nothing so you do the next best thing – you run.

"COWARD!"

You hear her armor clanking after you. You're out of Waterfall and entering Hotland when she catches up. She throws a spear at your feet, tripping you, as she rips your SOUL from your chest once more. The words "rotten cheater" die in your throat when you hop back to your feet. You won't make more of a target of yourself. You refuse.

"There's nowhere to run human," Undyne says with venom coating her voice. "You’re the last soul we need for freedom. All our hopes and dreams rest with that freaky SOUL of yours."

"Undyne please," you beg.

She answers with spears. _Left left left. Right rightright. Forwardbehindforwardbehind ._ You aren't prepared for when she suddenly speeds up her attack in the middle. You're struck three times, pain wiping your mind blank.

"Just give up and die. It'll hurt less."

You just brace for impact this time. You don't have the energy to spare arguing with her. Everything hurts. Undyne grins at you as she unleashes another round of even faster spears. You try to concentrate, oh god do you try, but you can only dodge so many of them. You're going to die right before Hotland. When her attack ends, you're able to move again.

You bolt, again. This time you zig and zag a bit, hoping that she can't predict your movements enough to throw a spear at her feet. You're not super fast, but you are faster than her in that armor. You don't look back, you just keep running and swerving. She lets out a yell a frustration and you're filled with hope. Maybe you'll be able to get far enough away from her to be able to hide.

You're so busy running that you almost miss the fact that you made it to Hotland. There's yet another narrow bridge ahead - this one over lava (seriously, there's enough trees in Snowdin to build bigger bridges – if you live through this you swear that you'll make a point to widen all bridges in the underground). You're running across it, _oh fuck it's shaking under your weight_ , when Undyne catches up to you. When your SOUL is pulled from your body this time you don't even flinch.

Your right leg is just back on solid ground again when your SOUL turns green once more. Stuck. Again. Undyne looks rough, you note. She's sweating profusely – not that you have room to talk right now – but she's looking weaker. Her scales look paler and the spear in her right arm is shaking.

"Why won't you fight?" She doesn't sound cocky anymore - just pissed off.

"Because we don't need to!" Undyne isn't the only one that's pissed off. Undyne barks out a laugh as spears go for your SOUL again. She's determined to kill you, but you're just as determined to live. Spears fly at you and you concentrate on shielding yourself from them. None hit you this time.

"Undyne, we're on the same side! I want to help!"

"Then DIE!" More spears.

"Not yet." Undyne looks ready to attack again until your words register.

"Yet?"

"I want to see if there's another way first," you say.

Undyne falters, hopefully thinking over what you said. She lowers her spear halfway. Oh thank -

"There is no other way."

Spears come at you before you're prepared to dodge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whatcha think is up with your SOUL?


	10. Everything is on Fire

You weren't prepared for the spears this time. Not even remotely. Undyne had heard what you said, you were sure of it! The hesitation was genuine, it wasn't a ploy.

 _Leftleftleftrightbehindbehindahead_ break _behindaheadleftbehindrightright_.

You try to deflect them all, but you can't. A spear from behind goes through your body and soul. You think you must have screamed, your throat hurts afterwards. Everything hurts so bad, except for a small warm spot on your chest. You're panting, shaking, and fighting to stay on your feet.

You're going to die.

Your new friends are going to be free.

Somehow, that fact makes this easier to bear. For a second even, you think about just giving up.

But... you won't go down just like that.

Magic charges in the air again and you feel the spears before you see them this time. They're just as fast as they were the last time. By sensing them before they appear, you manage to keep up with deflecting them this time.

Another round.

Then another.

There aren't any words between the two of you anymore. Your SOUL hurts so bad. You thought you'd known pain before, but _this_... This is horrid. The green magic drops again, but you don't run. What would be the point?

The magic in the air charges again, you start concentrating on tracking it again, preparing yourself for another – it's gone. Before you, Undyne collapses. Is she... ? Did she...? You limp towards her, scared. You kneel in front of her, moving a hand by her mouth.

_Oh thank god she's breathing._

You accidentally touch her armor and it's scalding. You think you've burnt your hand on her. You can't leave her like this. You carefully step over her, wary of the bridge, and reach your hands under her armpits and yank her backwards. Your hands instantly burn and you fight back the urge to drop her.

You carefully pull her backwards, out of Hotland. You don't know how you're doing this with how weak you are, but you are. Legs shaking, you keep pulling Undyne back toward Waterfall. You tune out your pain and just pull. Time stops meaning anything. All that matters is cooling her down.

"----!" Someone calls for you.

You look up and there's Grillby running up from the direction of Hotland. You stop, not letting go of Undyne.

"----, what happened? " Grillby is in a panic when he reaches you. "What -"

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I tried talking and running," you cut him off. "She collapsed in Hotland and I couldn't leave her there."

Grillby squats down, examining Undyne. He digs in his pocket, pulls out a piece of what looks like candy, and pops it in her mouth. What – oh, monster candy has healing magic in it. Within seconds, Undyne's scales return to their deeper shade of blue.

"W-what happened? Grillby?" Undyne sounds out of it.

"----, you can let her go. She's awake." You release Undyne and step back, hopefully out of striking range. Undyne jolts to attention at your name.

She doesn't get up yet, but turns to face you. You can't read her expression.

"Undyne, she pulled you here. Not me."

Undyne doesn't look away from you. You think she's going to strike when she slowly stands up. She walks over to you and you're trying to not look afraid, but you're terrified. She's even more intimidating up close. You know you won't be able to keep up with her if she decides to attack you again.

"I won't look for you," Undyne says simply as she eyes you. "But if I find you again or hear that you're hurting monsters... Well, owing someone a debt only goes so far." Without another word or glance, she walks away.

"C'mon ----, let's go back. We need to attend to your wounds." Grillby hands you a piece of candy and leads you back to Hotland. Feeling safe, you retreat into yourself.

***************

Sans considers himself to be, above all things, a pretty chill skeleton. In the month and a half or so that you've been in Snowdin, he's grown to like you. He's finally figured out that it's not just because you're new either; he'd like you even if the resets started up again with you stuck in them or if he'd met you before this reset nonsense. You just clicked into his little family. So when Grillby claims he needs help with Ragel in Temmie Village, Sans nearly loses that chill composure.

He doesn't want you dead, which is something you very well may end up if you go prancing into Undyne's turf. When Grillby promised to keep you safe, he let his complaints die in his throat last night. Grillby is good for his word anyway, but the bartender also considers you to be a friend at this point. As for Sans... Well, he's your friend, not your jailer after all.

Sitting his station in the entrance to Waterfall this morning, he's even more distracted than usual. Your declaration of "it's a date!" keeps repeating through his head. He doesn't get why it's bothering him. He knows you're an adult, probably about his age. You're free to make your own choices. So this feeling of unease and irritation bubbling up in his SOUL -

Oh.

He pieces fall together suddenly and he places the feeling . It's the same feeling he got when interning under Gaster; when Gaster chose Alphys as his protégé instead of him even though Sans had worked harder, worked longer hours, even volunteering for the truly dangerous shit.

Jealousy.

Well, shit.

He spends the rest of his shift hoping that you don't run into Undyne and also selfishly hoping that you aren't having too good of a time with Grillby.

* * *

 

It's five til two when Sans decides to go home. It's only five minutes early and there's been no sign of Undyne around. He hopes that's a good thing. He walks through the void, patting a nearby blaster as he goes, and discreetly pops back into existence in the middle of town. Papyrus is at work by now so there's no point in going home. Grillby's doesn't open for another two hours. He hates the morning sentry shift like no other. He's all about doing nothing, but doing nothing by yourself is dull.

He notices that Grillby has the curtains drawn, but there's light trickling out. He pops in without a second thought.

He almost wishes he hadn't.

You're sitting on his usual bar stool with Grillby in your usual spot, eating fries with a bandaged hand. Your jacket and shirt are off, leaving you in just your tank top. As you eat, Grillby is quite obviously cleaning wounds on you.

Sans sees red.

"i'm glad to see you kept her safe," he says, words laced with sarcasm.

Grillby and you jump a bit, his voice startling you both. Grillby has the decency to look slightly abashed, but not you.

"Oi! Not his fault, and even it was, not his job." Even though your skin is several different colors right now, covered in cuts, you have one eye swollen shut, bandaged hands, and a busted lip you still manage to argue. Any other circumstances and he probably would have laughed at you for being a danger-prone human.

Not today. Not like this.

"because you're so good at taking care of yourself?"

"Yes, I actually am Sans. Been doing just fine so far." You take a dramatic bite of some fries, skin slowly healing some.

"could have fooled me."

It hits him right then that you're beat to hell, which means you met Undyne. No other monster (Royal Guard or not) would beat someone to a pulp like this. Undyne doesn't just let someone go either...

Sans takes a sharp breath, his eyes going straight for your SOUL. Had you killed her? Frisk has managed to get away from her before, but you look more threatening than Frisk by far. What would he do if you had? He lets himself slip into judge mode, his magic pulsing through him to look for your SOUL's stats.

No LV and no EXP still.

How?

"Do you fucking mind?" You sound more pissed than he's ever heard you. Even more angry than the day when you'd unloaded on him in the guest house about being hurt. "Isn't a SOUL supposed to be mostly private? Or do I not get that right because I'm human?"

Whoops. It seems like Tori had explained a few things about SOULs to you. You must just have not noticed him looking at your SOUL in the forest. He knows he should apologize again, that this was uncalled for.

"You know if you were curious about how I got away from Undyne," you're on a roll, "you could have just asked me. Shocking concept, I know."

"you wouldn't have had to get away from her if you'd stayed with grillby. or even better, if you'd stayed in snowdin."

"Oh yes. Spend the rest of my days in Snowdin, pretending to be a monster, and praying that Asgore or Undyne don't pay this place a visit in the next few decades. That sounds like a great plan Sans. What could go wrong with it?" You take another bite of your fries and he watches your skin heal some more. Is arguing with him hurting you? "Besides everything, that is."

"at least you'd be alive."

"I AM alive Sans."

Grillby gives a small cough. He'd forgotten that Grillby was here, watching this fiasco. He expected Grillby to look entertained, but he just looks like he'd rather be anywhere but here as he hands you some more food. He almost calls Grillby out on that bullshit (he knows that Grillby lives for this sort of thing) when you start speaking again.

"You know, I just wanted to go to Hotland. I wanted to meet Alphys. Apparently none of this would have been necessary if _someone_ hadn't paid off the Riverperson to keep me here."

Sans can feel his magic light up his face in a blush. He hadn't meant for you to find out that he'd done that. Apparently, paying off the Riverperson doesn't buy their discretion.

"if you weren't so determined to get yourself killed i wouldn't have needed to. i'd let you go see alphys, i know her! you just had to ask. i would have taken you to her safely!" There, he thinks. That should end this. He can take you to her.

He hasn't been so wrong in quite some time.

Grillby catches his eye and just looks at him, shaking his head. Sans looks back at you and realizes that he's severely miscalculated. You're past angry now. He wonders if this is what he looks like when he tries to spook Frisk. You're looking past him, looking eerily calm for someone that had been nearly yelling a minute ago.

"You'd "let me" go?" Your voice is quiet, your tone deadly. You stand up quickly, wobbling for a second, he reaches to help steady you, but you slap his hand away. "Don't touch me! I thought you'd get it. You're not the boss of me. You don't own me. I'm not a damsel in distress, Sans. I don't need you to save me from myself!"

You walk past him towards the door, slightly shaky on your feet still. His palm twitches and he stomps down the urge to help you again.

"I'd tell you to go fuck yourself but," you eye him with clear disdain, "I don't think you can. So instead, I say to you, go sit on a fucking cactus. A big one."

You're out the door and it slams shut. He's shocked. There's a moment when he thinks about rushing after you, but it feels like his own gravity magic is being used on him.

The heavy silence is broken by Grillby breaking out into the loudest laughter Sans has heard since he got you with the whoopee cushion for the first time. He looks at Grillby, hoping he can just show him how unimpressed he is with a look. Grillby just laughs harder.

" _You're an idiot_ ," the fire elemental cackles once he gets his laughter under control. " _A bone-a-fide idiot Sans. What in Asgore's name did you think that would accomplish?_ "

Sans ignores his own pun being used against him and decides to ignore Grillby while he's at it. This just makes Grillby laugh some more. Bastard. He should just go home.

" _Sit down Sans_ ," Grillby says once his laughter dies out again. Sans doesn't move. " _ **Now.**_ "

Sans grumbles and plops onto his bar stool. Grillby just looks expectantly at him for a minute.

"what grillby?"

" _I'm waiting for you to ask for advice Sans._ "

"why would i ask you?" He knows he's being petty. He doesn't care.

" _Because I've been bonded before. To a human._ "

"i know that," Sans lies – he'd completely forgotten about Grillby mentioning his human wife from time to time. "but i'm not bonded nor looking to be."

" _You like her._ " Sans says nothing. " _Fine, I'll just give you the advice and even let you know what you did wrong!_ " Grillby sounds like Christmas has come early for him.

" _First off, for what you did wrong. Everything. Everything you did was something that you do to scare people off, not make them care for you. Idiot._ " Grillby openly gloats for a second. " _Any idea what your cardinal sin was?_ "

"...no." It's painful to admit.

" _Do you think you own ----? Do you want to own ---?_ " He shakes his skull. " _She told you herself – she's not a damsel in distress. You don't trap people in cages and expect them to flourish. If she would have gotten killed today it wouldn't have been on me. Stop trying to save her Sans._ "

Sans goes to argue, but Grillby cuts him off. " _You can try and protect her and try and keep her safe without being a possessive asshole._ " Grillby lets his words sink in before continuing. " _Give her some time to cool down and just talk to her. Tell her why you're worried Sans._ "

"why?"

" _Hmm?_ "

"why are you helping me? i see how you look at her too." Sans feels something odd in his SOUL that he can't place when he asks Grillby about you.

" _She reminds me of my wife_ ," Grillby shrugs. " _Because of that I've opened up to her quicker and I'm quite fond of her already, yes. But to love someone because they remind you of someone else isn't fair to anyone._ "

"anything else?"

" _Be honest Sans_ ," Grillby says, all the gloating and taunting from earlier gone from his tone. " _I don't know what's been up with you recently, but something isn't right with you lately. If you won't tell me or your brother... Tell her."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These past two chapters have been my first time ever writing a battle scene. I hope they turned out decent. Also the mushroom's name, according to the Undertale Wiki, is Ragel. #themoreyougoogle
> 
> Grillby, in true best friend fashion, is having a grand ol' time dragging Sans _over the coals. *ba dum tiss*_
> 
> I'll see myself out now.


	11. Undying Determination

Even though you're covered in bumps and bruises still, you don't go back to the Inn yet. You need to let off some steam. What Sans had actually said was bad enough, but what he implied? You didn't need to confined to a small room right now. You need the open space, room to move, to work off this angry energy that's buzzing in you. You walk into the forest, heading toward the small cliff that was right outside of Snowdin.

How dare he?

Once you're there you take some snow and chuck it against the cliff. The eyes in the wall watch you carefully, and you apologize quickly to whatever they belong to, promising that you won't hit them. You aim low and throw snowball after snowball, anger coming and going like the tide.

After a few minutes, you aren't sure how long exactly, you groan and plop down in the snow. It's not helping. You're still so angry at Sans. How dare he say those things to you? He knows that you... Wait. No, he doesn't. You think back to your little private talk in Waterfall. You'd told a partial truth. Per usual, you'd danced around the topic of your past.

You told him that your ex had hurt you, but you only implied the extent of it. How could have Sans had known that the way that the way that everything had started was the control over you? (Their voice in your head, the one that you usually tune out, hisses " _Babe, don't go there! It's not safe! How come you can hang out with your friends but not with me?_ ," and it makes you sick to your stomach.) The disgust at Sans shifts to yourself.

You'd said some awful things. You wish you could explain that it wasn't him that you saw at that moment – it was your ex, crawling back to you. The things that you'd said to him... those things are what you wish you could have told them. Not Sans. You're glad that you'd rushed out before you could actually start being really nasty towards your friend.

Sitting on the cliff, you resolve to give Sans a few days before you apologize for your words and explain to him what happened and why you said what you said. Hopefully, he'd understand. You're still mad at him, but...

How could you really be mad at him for what he had know way of knowing about?

* * *

 

The next morning you sip on some hot chocolate while looking out the inn's window. Talking to Bunny and her sister was a good distraction (and by now you knew the citizens of Snowdin well enough to keep up with the gossip – apparently Ice's cousin was making quite a living in Hotland under Mettaton nowadays and the fish monster that frequented Grillby's had actually put his phone number on a line and put it in the river) while you waited to catch your prey.

There he was.

"Catch ya later gals, I need to talk to a skeleton!" You're out the door running towards him before the bunnies can say anything.

"Papyrus!"

"----! I WAS COMING TO CHECK ON YOU. ARE YOU ALRIGHT? MY BROTHER MENTIONED," he stops himself and lowers his voice, "that you had a run in with Undyne." He may not have the white lights in his eyes like Sans, but you can tell he's looking you over checking for injuries. For the third time you are so so so thankful for monster food's healing properties. Other than a few bruises (which had been cuts yesterday), you look fine.

It doesn't look like a fish monster had nearly killed you yesterday.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I actually -"

"Why didn't you come to me about seeing Undyne? We could have gone together – she IS my best friend!" Papyrus sounds hurt.

"I'm sorry Paps, I didn't think that you would help." Please don't ask why Paps.

"Why?"

"Sans, uhhh.... Sans paid off the Riverperson and I thought you were in on it?" It comes out as a question.

"HE WHAT?" Papyrus looks annoyed, dramatically face palming himself. "NEVERMIND. MY BROTHER IS FOOLISH. I UNDERSTAND WHY YOU MAY HAVE DOUBTED THE GREAT PAPYRUS, BUT IN THE FUTURE PLEASE KNOW THAT I'M ON YOUR SIDE."

You grin at the younger brothers words. "I was hoping you'd say that. I need the Great Papyrus' help today."

"OH?"

"I need to talk to Undyne."

* * *

 

To his credit, Papyrus didn't tell you that you were insane and refuse to help. He'd simply told you that you were out of your mind, that seeing her so soon after fighting her (how he knew that you weren't sure) wasn't a good idea. His rejection was stinging until, well...

"IF YOU'RE SURE, LET'S GO. YOU HAVE THAT SAME DETERMINED LOOK THAT SHE GETS SOMETIMES. THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL HELP MEDIATE." You might have cracked one of his bottom ribs with how hard you'd hugged him.

The Riverperson doesn't seem surprised to see you again so soon. You're incredibly thankful that they don't bring up how beat to shit you were yesterday in front of Papyrus. You don't even remember the ride back to Snowdin.

"Tra la la – remember to take a break sometimes," you can feel the unsubtle hint as the Riverperson seems to gaze at you. "Tra la la." You make a face at them and you think you hear them giggle in your ear. Which wouldn't be weird if they weren't on the opposite end of the boat from you.

"FULL SPEED AHEAD TO WATERFALL!!!" This time they do laugh as the boat raises a bit and speeds off. Was the boat _running_ on water? You know what - not asking.

The closer you get to Waterfall, the more knots seem to twist in your gut. Is this a good idea? You feels like you need Undyne on your side. You can't just keep sneaking around, hoping not to run into her. It wouldn't be a good way to live.

When you reach the Waterfall stop, you fling yourself from the boat. Whatever was different about it from yesterday was not good for you. You push down the urge to puke all over the ground. You stay hunched up for longer that you need to. Papyrus seems to sense your nerves a simply places a hand on your shoulder. "We don't have to, ----." You look up at him, shocked. This is the most you've ever heard lower his voice. "I could never think less of you and neither could Sans or Grillby. You've already proven how brave you are." You don't care to tell him about your fight with Sans, so you just tell him to lead the way. Instead of hanging right like you did yesterday, you hang a left.

Within minutes, you're standing in front of a house that looks like an angry fish. How fitting. "Ready ----?"

"No, but...let's do this."

Papyrus knocks twice and slips back into his normal persona, stepping in front of you. He calls out loudly for Undyne. Maybe she's not home? Maybe you should just call today a bust and try again later. Didn't Blooky say he lived in Waterfall? That's what you could do -the door swings open.

Fuck.

Well, at least she's not in armor.

"SO YOU FINALLY MET MY FRIEND ----," Papyrus takes a giant step to the side, putting you into view. Why Papyrus? Why right off the bat?

"You're...friends? With the human?" Undyne looks and sounds like she's smelt something unpleasant.

"YES."

"Why did you bring her here Papyrus?"

"I DIDN'T. SHE WANTED TO COME. I JUST ESCORTED HER."

"I," you find your voice again, "I wanted to talk to you." You take comfort in the fact that you sound tons braver than you feel.

Undyne looks at you like you're a piece of gum on her shoe. You don't blame her exactly. You kind of expect her to kill you in front of Papyrus when to your great surprise, she steps to the side. "Come in you two." When you walk past her, you just whisper "please, not in front of Papyrus."

Her home is oddly cute. From the outside you thought it'd be a medieval torture chamber, but it's so happy and normal. There's a moment when the three of you just stand there.

"SO. I GOT YOU HERE SAFELY AND NOW – YOU TWO NEED TO TALK." No! Traitor! "I WILL BE WAITING AT THE RIVERPERSON FOR YOU ----. UNDYNE, IF YOU ATTACK UNPROVOKED... I WILL BE VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH MY MENTOR."

You think you and Undyne might both have the same look on your face when he flips out the window. Neither of you say anything for a full minute. What had just happened?

"What do you want human?" Undyne says, finally breaking the silence.

"Just like I said yesterday. I want to talk."

"That's it?" She sounds confused.

"That's it. I have no intention on fighting you at all. Or running from you."

Her one yellow eye is looking over you now, you think she's looking for proof that you're lying. "Are you stupid? Giving me the tactical advantage like that?" Undyne is still on guard, but her posture relaxes ever so slightly.

"Maybe. Listen, I'll cut to the chase. I want to help you guys get out of here. What's happened to you guys is wrong."

Undyne snorts, "Told you yesterday. The only way to do that is for you to die." She walks over to the table and sits down, gesturing you to join her. You debate it for a second - "Look, I'm not going to attack you with Papyrus waiting. I even respect you some for asking me not to kill you in front of him. You're safe, punk. For now."

"Thank you. Err, what if there's another way? When I fell, I was told that I was the only adult to fall. What if that makes a difference?" Undyne looks surprised. "That's why I want to talk to Alphys. I want to see if there's a way to help that doesn't involving me dying."

"What if there isn't?"

"Then," you lower your voice, "I just ask that you kill me quickly."

Undyne looks surprised. Once it's clear that you're serious, she chuckles.

"Brave. Meet me at the entrance to Waterfall in the morning. I'll take you to Alphys."

* * *

 

Meeting Undyne at the beginning of Waterfall is nerve-wrecking, but no longer terrifying. You actually beat her there so you go ahead and throw your shoes and jacket into your backpack and roll your pants up a bit. There's no need to look like a drowned rat when you meet the Royal Scientist after all.

Undyne approaches you dressed like she's going on a date: Leggings, a tank top, and knee high boots. Her hair is pulled back and her make-up is artistically done. "Uh, at the risk of making this awkward trip even more awkward - you look hot," the compliment comes easy. You've been team "compliment people" for ages and it's not going to change just because the woman in front of you wants you dead. Undyne looks uncomfortable as she mumbles out what sounds like a thank you.

When you get to Waterfall's sentry station, MK is waiting for you. The poor kid starts to hyperventilate when he sees you with Undyne. He's too star struck to say anything to her, so when you hug him as you leave you tell him you'll get him an autograph. He just squeaks.

"You really do care, don't you punk?" You don't think she's looking for an answer so you don't say a word. It's going to be a long walk to Hotland.

The two of you walk in silence until you reach an area covered in plaques.

"Read," she simply says. "There's no rush."

So you do.

As soon as you read the first one, you know why you two came the long way. It's the history of the underground. The history of humans and monsters. It makes you feel sick.

You know that this is just one side of the story. There's always two sides to every fight, but... the fact that humans erased monsters from history says a lot. So you feel sick because you know this is the truth. Humans had attacked first over the one advantage that monsters had over them – the ability to harness the power of a SOUL after death. Other than that one ability, humans were far stronger.

The monsters were being generous calling it a war. There were no human casualties and countless monster ones. It wasn't war; it was genocide. Then as a whole, humanity had decided to erase monsters as fact and turn them into legend. Did the word 'monster' end up with it's current meaning as part of a slander campaign?

"Oh my god. Undyne this is...horrid."

"What do they tell you about us?" Undyne wants to know a few minutes later. Oh boy, she isn't going to like this.

"Nothing," you hear her sharp intake of breath, "nothing at all. You all are the stuff of myth. Boogeymen to scare kids." When glance over at her, her thoughts are written all over her face. Anger, bitterness, sadness. "History is written by the winners and they wanted you forgotten for whatever reason. For what it's worth Undyne – I'm ashamed of what my species did to yours. I know several people that would feel the same too."

Undyne scoffs. You don't blame her.

You two don't say anything else in Waterfall.

* * *

 

As soon as you walk into Hotland, Undyne snarls.

"GODDAMMIT SANS, WAKE UP!" Ho boy, she can be as loud as Papyrus. Once her words register, you see a very disoriented Sans snapping awake behind the sentry post. You almost giggle until you remember that they last time you'd seen him you'd told him to go sit on a cactus.

"sorry _bass_ ," he quips and you both groan.

"I don't have time – no that's a lie. I just don't want to deal with this today. Stay awake Sans, or I'll loan you to Mettaton for a week." Sans flinches.

"no need for that - ," he cuts himself off whatever awful pun he was working on when he sees you with Undyne.

Awkward. He stares at you and Undyne looks between the two of you, clearly confused. Awkwarder.

"hey listen -"

"Later," you say. "We'll talk later. I'm, uh, kind of busy now."

Undyne's grin is predatory as the two of you walk off. Once your over that awful bridge, she turns it to you.

"So you and Sans, huh?"

With a bravery (or was it stupidity?) you never thought you'd possess you told her to shut up and that you there was no "you and Sans". This just makes her grin bigger.

"Whatever it is, I support it. Human or not. Even if you're clearly fighting. I've never heard him stop a pun for anything."


	12. A Piranha, a Drake, and a Human Walk Into A Lab...

Alphys's lab was huge. You'd expected a normal sized lab, not that you had any real frame of reference, but not _this_ monstrosity. Wait - would monstrosity be a slur down here? You'd shaken off most of your nerves on the walk here until now. The sense of foreboding was back with a vengeance. Undyne gives what you can only describe as a dark chuckle at your expression.

"Well, go on in." She opens the door to the lab. "I'll be right behind you." The predatory look is back on her face so the words don't reassure you at all.

Gulp.

When you step in, you're surprised. Besides the escalators and the giant computer, this place is more college dorm room than laboratory. It's a mess. Standing in front of the trashed desk is a yellow dinosaur monster (or maybe dragon - you aren't sure and both are pretty cool) wearing a polka dotted dress underneath a pristine white lab coat.

"H-hey Undyne. Hello _-___," says what you assume is Alphys's intern. She comes closer and nervously extends you a sweaty palm. "It's g-g-good to finally meet you."

You smile and take her hand. "Hey Alph," Undyne says, all dark humor instantly gone. She almost sounds friendly right now.

Wait.

This is Alphys? You'd been imaging someone older, taller, and intimidating. Not this nervous girl in glasses that was the same height as you.

"Wow! Hi Alphys!" You're so glad that she doesn't look like a mad scientist that you instantly relax. "It's great to finally meet you," you add as an after thought.

"S-same," she still sounds nervous. "Come on upstairs, let's t-talk." Undyne makes a sound of disapproval from behind you. "U-u-undyne, it's fine. It's g-going to be a long talk, we should be comfy."

Undyne mumbles that she's staying then, but leads you two up the escalator. At the top there are two chairs a polite distance apart, facing each other. Alphys, you realize, hadn't planned on the captain staying. The two of you sit and Undyne perches on the arm of Alphys' seat. Undyne and Alphys both look flustered for some reason.

"Y-you don't need to stay, 'Dyne."

Undyne looks at Alphys like she's lost her mind and quickly gives you a sharp glare before growling out, "Yes. I do."

"She's harmless!" The stutter was gone.

The captain scoffs out her disbelief.

"N-no really! She's been here for ages and she hasn't hurt a fly. She's been nothing but kind to everyone. I need to be able to talk to her openly - she'll have patient confidentiality." She knew you were here?

"Y-you knew she was here?" Undyne asks for you. Alphys blushes and just whispers "C-c-cameras". The Royal Scientist knew you were here this whole time and you were still alive?

Undyne heaves a heavy sigh and for a split second, her guard drops. Her feelings were hurt. Holy shit. Undyne has feelings that can be hurt - who would have guessed? You don't think Alphys notices. "She's a human, she waived that right," Undyne finally growls out as whatever mask she's wearing slides back into place.

"It's fine. I don't mind," you say. You don't really. Maybe Undyne will have some ideas of her own. Any and all ideas that could potentially lead to you staying alive were welcomed. "All I ask is that for now what goes on here stays between us three," you say. "I don't want the people I do know worrying." You think of Papyrus, Sans, and Grillby. If any of them for wind of the fact that you were willing to die... Tori's heartbroken face from that night of the raid appears in your mind. You don't need to see that expression on their faces too. The women in front of you agree to keep the details secret.

"So I'm sure Undyne told you, but I want to help free you guys. No one deserves this," you say. "I understand that it probably means my death, but what if there's another way?"

"Theoretically, I l-like our chances. We have six SOULs already, the b-barrier should be weaker," Alphys sounds a lot less anxious when talking science. "It'd be easier if I could take you to the barrier..."

"Asgore wouldn't be able to let her leave," Undyne explains to you and Alphys. Her gaze returns to you, "even if you're willing to die in the long run."

"WHAT?" The scientist interjects.

"Alphys, I'm going to die down here either way unless we break the barrier. Humans have a short lifespan." You shrug. It's not that you wanted to die, but you signed your death certificate the second you decided to save that kid on the surface.

"S-so do some m-m-monsters! I -"

"Doctor please, let me do this," you say.

She looks ready to argue, but holds it in. You can tell that this isn't the end of this talk, it's just the end of it in front of Undyne.

"Ok. So any i-ideas -----?" The doctor sounds worn out already. You mention your half-cocked theory about your age to her and she nods. Alphys looks deep in thought when Undyne speaks up.

"I have another one." You both look at her and she looks uncomfortable. "It's a bit awkward, but uh... ----, come here." She stands up and walks to the side. You follow.

"I need to pull your SOUL out." She sounds like she'd rather do anything but this.

"UNDYNE! W-why?" Alphys sounds shocked.

You, honestly, don't get it. You knew that SOULs were typically private from Tori. She'd mentioned that she could see your SOUL with only a bit of concentration, but that most monsters couldn't. When Sans had done it the first time, you'd been too out of it to call him on his invasion of privacy, but this didn't seem that bad.

"SOULs are typically only brought out when fighting or fucking," Undyne explains. Oh. That explains a lot. "SOULs are pure magic in all things, but for monsters it's the source of our magic. So it's typically only done down here during intimate situations or when we're teaching self-defense. Or, theoretically, trying to kill each other." You mentally dial back your planned apology to Sans at this.

"But Alph, her SOUL is different from the others that have been collected."

"How so?" Alphys's stutter is gone.

Undyne steps forward, reaching her hand out toward your chest. "May I?" You're surprised that she asked for permission and even more surprised that it's a genuine question. Her back and forth is giving you whiplash. You nod - for science.

There's that tugging feeling in your chest as your SOUL pulls free. Alphys gasps as Undyne's hand drops.

"Uh, guys?" You feel like a freak. You're on display, clearly different, but no one is telling you why. You think your SOUL is pretty, but now you're self conscious. "What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing's wrong, I don't think so anyway," Alphys is transfixed by you. "A human SOUL is typically one color, or at least the six we have are, and we think they represent a strong personality trait. Yours is, well..." She gives a wild gesture.

Oh.

Your SOUL isn't one color. It's several. It reminds you of a kaleidoscope. The colors twirl around each other, sometimes dancing, sometimes combining. Every color of the rainbow is present, some in larger quantities than others. For once in your life, you're one-hundred percent fine with being abnormal.

If this is actually the culmination of your being, in this moment, you believe that you are beautiful inside and out.

You stare for a moment more before realizing that you're crying. Alphys is mesmerized by your SOUL still, but Undyne is watching you. Her expression is unreadable. You wipe away your tears quickly which catches Alphys attention. She asks if you're alright, if this is too much at once, in one hurried breath.

"I'm fine. I just... I had someone close to me tell me that I was a hideous person in the past. Seeing this," you gesture to your SOUL. "Well, if you're told something enough you start to believe it. But... I'm not." You go to breath in and let out a loud sniffle instead.

After so long of holding yourself together, you're starting to fracture. You feel a few more tears fall before you manage to pull yourself back together. Not here. You're not here to weep and bond, this is business.

"Sorry about that," you say after a minute. Alphys still looks concerned and to your surprise, it's Undyne that claps your shoulder in her hand. She looks oddly proud of you.

The captain is giving you whiplash.

* * *

 

A few minutes of awkward small talk pass. Alphys, out of science mode, goes back to being anxious. You hope that over time she'll grow more comfortable with you. Undyne seems to be using this time to come to terms with that fact that you've been here under her radar (she admits that by this point she'd chalked up the rumor of a human in the ruins as a prank) for almost two months and that her two closest friends were both keeping you from her. She's doing an admirable job of openly accepting it, but you pity whatever object she trains on during her next practice session.

Alphys just keeps getting more worked up. Strangely, it doesn't seem to be you that she's nervous about.

A few more minutes pass talking about Grillby ("love the guy, but man I'd love to punch that smug smirk off his face sometimes," Undyne laments) before you decide to move the subject back to business for the doctor's sake. She's practically hyperventilating.

"Do you have any theories on my SOUL Alphys?"

"N-n-none that I'm s-sure enough to s-share." She takes a deep breath. "B-but many I want to test! I-if you're w-willing that is."

"Of course!" You don't even pretend to think about it.

"I-it could be v-very d-d-dangerous," she stutters. "I d-d-don't exactly have the b-best track record." As soon as that last part is out, she winces. You just shrug. Like you told them earlier, you're going to die down here regardless one way or the other.

Undyne rolls her visible eye. "Track record? You've been fine." Alphys looks ready to faint. This is what she's so nervous about, you realize. She's been dreading this moment for whatever reason.

"Hey Alph, it's fine. I volunteer, remember?"

Alphys looks like she wants to be anywhere but here right now. She deflates suddenly, leaning forward, putting her face into her hands. There's a muffled sob that comes from her. Undyne looks lost. You grab Alphys shoulders, giving them a gentle squeeze.

"Hey, doctor patient confidentiality," you say lightly. You glance up at Undyne. "We'll have it go both ways with us, how's that sound?" The scientist under your arms gives a chocked sob and nods, the fish monster mouths "thank you" as she finally decides to rub Alphys back. Undyne's blushing now. Oh. A lightbulb goes off in your head. _Oh oh oh_. Undyne likes Alphys.

"I-I need to show you b-both something," Alphys says after a few more moments. When she stands, you take a giant step back to let Undyne comfort her. It's not your place to do it, after all.

Alphys seems to steel herself as she leads the two of you back down to the main floor. She leads you to the bathroom door and hesitates slightly before she opens the door. It's not a bathroom. It's an elevator. Undyne gasps next to you. She looks, heh, like a fish out of water.

"B-b-before you actually agree to t-t-this, y-you need to s-s-see what I've done." She gulps. "P-please don't say anything until I'm d-done explaining." The second part isn't at you, it's at Undyne. _Oh._ Alphys likes Undyne too. Whatever Alphys is about to show you both, she hadn't meant for Undyne to see yet.

The ride down is tense. The second the elevator does close behind you Alphys squeaks out a deep breath and unleashes everything that she must have been holding to for god only knows how long after she presses the down button.

"I've been b-busy. I k-know that everyone thinks that I haven't been d-doing anything since I got promoted, b-b-but that's not true! I've been busy working on breaking the barrier! I found Gaster's old research files so I followed in his footsteps. I distracted the determination from all of the SOULs we have and found monster family's willing to be injected to try and help break the barrier. Their loved ones that had fallen down were injected with it. And," there's a ding as the elevator stops and its doors open, "it worked. They didn't fade! But they aren't themselves anymore either."

She steps out and you gape at the room you're in. It's dark. You can feel the despair in the air.

"This is my true lab," Alphys says.

Here's the lab that you'd been expecting earlier. It's huge, dark, and foreboding.

* * *

 

Undyne hasn't spoken since Alphys little outburst. Poor Alphys, even as you're getting a grand tour of the real lab (you're really struggling imagining someone as bright as Alphys is working in such a dreary place honestly), she keeps looking at Undyne and flinching. She's clearly waiting for an outburst. As she leads you around you notice that some of the monitors on the walls down here flicker to life, but not all of them.From what you can tell, they tell the story of her determination experiment.

You don't pry about the ones that aren't on. Everyone is entitled to their privacy.

The extractor is the scariest part of the tour for you. The machine looks more animal than anything, it gives off the feeling that it's sentient even though it's clearly been dormant for a while. You know that you're going to end up in what appears to be its gaping maw at some point. It's the scariest part until you pass a table through of yellow flowers anyway. You glare at them, expecting to see Flowey's little face in their midst.

He's not.

When you're back in the room with the beds, she has you two sit down on one. Undyne is still deathly quiet.

"Any q-questions?" Alphys asks.

"When do we start?" You ask. Alphys looks surprised. She had clearly not been expecting you to be so relaxed.

"Y-you're still willing?" You give her an enthusiastic nod and she claps her hands together. "W-well there's still one more place I n-need to show you and then -"

"Why didn't you tell me about this place Alp?" Undyne finally speaks up. There's no anger in her voice, only the hurt that you had caught a glimpse of earlier. "You've never mentioned any of this to me before. Another lab, experiments on monsters... Which monsters? Are they the ones that have been reported missing? I thought – I thought we were friends." You ache for Undyne. She's been reading the monitors obviously, noting that some were off, and had come to the same conclusions as you obviously. Something dark had happened down here. Something that, despite the two of them obviously being good friends, Alphys had kept Undyne in the dark about. Something that Alphys had originally had zero intention on showing Undyne.

"I... I didn't know how." Alphys just whispers.

"What about -" Undyne's temper is coming out when Alphys just cuts her off.

"F-f-follow me. P-please."

Again, you follow her. This time none of you speak as she leads you to what you think is the heart of the lab. The room that she takes you to is small, but in the center is a large machine. From the distance that you're at, there's what looks like a red dot in the center of a massive machine with tons of wiring coming from it.

"This is the generator. It p-powers the l-lab and part of the CORE." Alphys whimpers for a second and whistles loudly. It's quiet for a moment before the air instantly chills. You feel something behind you a second later - from the corner of your eye, Undyne tenses. she feels this as well. You're not going crazy.

You turn around to see five...somethings staring at you all. You think you see something familiar in at least two of them in the second you get before your SOUL is pulled out by them. There's a flash of turquoise - Undyne has summoned a spear next to you.

"WAIT!"

Alphys darts between the two of you and the creatures, arms out as wide as the can go. "Don't! Undyne, t-these are them! The m-missing monsters!" Undyne drops her spear and it fades from existence at her feet.

"What?" You ask for Undyne.

"I c-call them the amalgamates. The d-d-determination fused their bodies," she explains in a whisper. "I can't bring myself to let them leave. They're safe but... I h-haven't been able to b-bring myself to t-try and explain what happened to their families."

Undyne steps forward, and one of them that looks like a pack of dogs bounds forward, growling as it looks to guard Alphys from her. "I-it's fine Indogeny." The creature, Endogeny you guess, backs away.

"Oh my God," is all Undyne manages.

* * *

 

It's hours later before any of you leave that room. You like the amalgamates and completely understand poor Alphy's position. Undyne is, after the initial shock wears off, relieved you think. These guys had apparently been missing for months. You two both convince her that she needs to work on a plan for all of them – they need to go home. It doesn't need to be right away, but there needs to be progress. Undyne even tells Alphys that she, as the captain of the Royal Guard, will escort her and help her talk to the families.

Alphys looks like the weight of the world has been lifted from her. She even hugs you when you say you'll be back to start working as soon as you give her the word much to Undyne's annoyance.

"T-t-tomorrow! Same time!" She squawks out, all excitement now.

"I'll take you home now human. Err, Alph? Can I come back afterwards? I want to talk -"

"Please." Alphys says, looking slightly nervous.

Your ride home with the Riverperson is quiet with the exception of their humming. When Undyne drops you off, she looks uncomfortable.

"Thank you," Undyne finally whispers.

"Good luck. I'm sorry about how you had to find out about," you say, trailing off. How do you say "sorry your friend and crush has been hiding such a huge part of who she is from you" to a person who is, quite likely, still looking to an excuse to run a spear through you? You lick your lips. "Don't let her off too easy."

Undyne looks surprised.

"I don't plan to." She turns on her heel and leaves without another word.

* * *

 

Up in your room, you realize that your little field trip had taken up an entire day. It sure hadn't felt like it at the time, but it's now six o'clock in the evening according to the clock on the wall. You're drained. You tell yourself that you're just going to relax for a minute when you lay down on your bed.

The next time you open your eyes, it's morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Plot progression! Pick your own combinations of SOUL color distribution :) 
> 
> I think there will be a chapter up tomorrow, but nothing on Sunday. Weekends are typically my time with my fiance since he works such long hours during the week, but I still wake up before him (thanks Spawn!) so I can still post.


	13. Catching Feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have not one, but two chapters today!

For a moment, you forget the past two months. You expect to be looking at the popcorn ceiling of your small studio apartment when you open your eyes. You groan thinking about heading into your waitressing job. Another day, another dollar, another day away from them. Maybe soon, you'll be able to go back to school and be successful. Maybe today -

You open your eyes.

You're not looking at the ceiling of your apartment, you're looking at the ceiling of your tiny room at the Inn. That's right, you're in the underground. You don't even try to wrap your head around the relief that floods you when you realize that you're here. You sit up, still in yesterday's clothes, and catch a whiff of yourself. Ew, into the shower you go.

You shower slowly and dress quickly. The inn is pretty well insulated, but you can still feel the cold after a hot shower. You dry your hair to the best of your ability, mentally prepare yourself for the cold, and once out of the inn make a mad dash for the Riverperson. Hopefully, they'll just let you on.

They do.

The outside of the lab is just as intimidating as it was yesterday. You ring the small doorbell and Alphys immediately answers.

"G-good morning ----! I w-was hoping that you would show."

"Told you I would," you say with a grin. When Alphys offers you a cup of coffee you nearly swoon. You hadn't had caffeine in ages. She'd cleared off her table since last night so you have a seat.

"We're j-just going to talk today." Alphys says as she hands you a cup.

Mmmm, black coffee. You think you feel your SOUL pulsate in pure joy. That could be a fun test. You always thought you were a better person when you had your morning coffee in you, maybe now you could actually scientifically prove it.

You and Alphys task for hours. She teaches about what they think they know about SOULs. She doesn't share any of her hypotheses about yours, but she tells you what each color means as far as they can tell. She explains about how every human SOUL contains trace amounts of determination, as discovered by Gaster, and that he believed that since it had a color that some SOULs must be made entirely of it.

When she says Gasters' name for the first time, she tries to backpedal some.

"Don't worry. Sans mentioned him," you tell her.

"R-really? He doesn't talk about him much. I've only seen him a few times in the past year," Alphys looks over you, thinking. "I know you just met him, but... Does he seem a-alright? When Gaster died, he just vanished."

"He's hurting I think. He doesn't talk about his feelings much though," you shrug. "I don't know him that well though so what do I know?"

"A-are you s-s-serious? You're the first person he's l-let in since it happened," a glint that hadn't been in her eyes before appeared. You don't like it. "Sooooo, do you like him?"

"..." One of these days maybe someone will say something that will surprise you and your jaw won't hit the floor. Today isn't that day. "Are you serious?"

She doesn't answer, she just keeps looking at you. "I mean, I consider him a friend?"

"N-not what I meant!"

Your knee jerk reaction is a resounding NO but..."I'm human, he's a skeleton monster. How would that even work?" You say, biding your time. Now that the thought's there, you can't shake it. Logically, it makes zero sense. Two different species.

"I bet it can. Magic," Alphys says, singing out magic so it sounds more like "maaaggggggiiiiccc" as she wiggles her claws. You think a little harder. He'd said some fucked up things to you, sure. When you think about him, the butterflies form in your belly and you realize that he's a big part of the reason that this place feels like home.

"Well fuck," you mutter. Alphys gives a quick "ohmygod" along with a squeak. "Don't you dare tell anyone," you try and summon your inner Undyne at her.

"O-of course not! As long as you know!"

She looks wayyy too smug. "So, what are you going to do about Undyne?"

You almost feel bad as the scales on her face go beet red.

Almost.

* * *

 

It's an hour later when Alphys asks if you can run an errand for her. Her scales are still red - the poor thing was floored that you'd figured out her feelings for Undyne. She'd begged you not to mention it to Undyne, near tears, as you tried to tell her that you wouldn't dare.

"You need to tell her!" You tell as the lab door shuts behind you. You've been sent to Mettaton's hotel to deliver an updated battery to him. Apparently he was way too busy to come down to her despite the fact that he needed it.

Maybe it was his movies or maybe it still was the memory of the pasta, but you didn't want to do this. Maybe you could just drop it off without seeing him.

Man you miss having a phone. You could have Paps do it if you did.

You agreed to do this for the excuse to keep exploring the underground, the core is incredibly hot and you are incredibly thankful for the fact that you'd decided to run out of the inn wearing shorts.

When you see Sans at a kiosk, your heart jumps. Oh man, awkward take two. It's not very busy so maybe this is as good of a chance as any to talk to him. At least you have an excuse to leave if things get weird.

"Hey Sans," giggling to yourself as he snaps awake.

"huh? oh," he sees you and his grin falters. "hey."

"I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have said anything like I did." You awkwardly kick at the platform. "I should have kept my cool and been civil. Not that."

"no, uh, it's my bad. grillbz let me know what an idiot i am. i don't own ya." He shrugs.

Boy, you're bad at this.

"Err... Are you selling water sausages?"

"yup, as hotdogs. want one?"

"Not even a little bit."

"hotcat?"

"Not gonna lie, that sounds terrifying."

"aww, don't be a _pussy_."

"Since when can we do dirty puns? And by the way, rude."

"always. well, preferably not in front of paps. some things i just don't want to break down."

You hate feeling this tense around him again. You want to tell him everything. He makes you want to be defenseless. Why? Maybe it was the mystery shrouding him. The Shrek onion analogy comes to mind. You're usually pretty good at knowing your own heart so your now officially off your game after your recent epiphany regarding your feelings for him.

Maybe it's because you can tell that he knows pain like you do.

"uh?" Shit, you're staring. Way to be cool, ----. You can play this off. There has to be some sort of olive branch - ah, you've got this.

"What has a hundred teeth and eats wieners?" You hope he doesn't realize it's a joke. Oh god, he's staring at you like you're nuts - either he's never heard this one or he doesn't know it's a joke. Score! " _A zipper_."

Watching Sans piece a joke together is your new favorite sight. His browbones had furrowed (probably wondering if you were insane) but as it hits, his forced grin slips into a real smile, the whites of his eyes brighten, and heart be still, the start of his laugh had been a snort.

"that's a real _wiener_."

"I'll be _frank_ with you Sans- that was a horrible pun." When he laughs this time, he drops his fixed smile all together when he throws his head back to laugh.

When he stops laughing the tension between you two is gone. You sit on the edge of his table and to your surprise, he grabs your hand. It makes your heart pound.

"so whatcha doing this far into the underground _shorty_?"

"I've been told I need to deliver something to Mettaton," you say as you look around to make sure you're alone before finishing your thought. "I know it's not his fault on the pasta, but between that and the tenth movie I don't like him already."

Sans snorts out a laugh, face still open. "good luck with that. er, so we probably should really talk about yesterday though. when you're done, want me to shortcut you back to your room so you can change? then we could go somewhere private."

Change? Oh yeah, shorts. Duh. "Sounds good. Wish me luck til then."

* * *

 

Mettaton is the single most infuriating monster of all time. You didn’t even need to meet him to know this, it's apparent as soon as you see the lobby of his hotel. For fuck's sake, there's a statue of him in the center of a water fountain that is making a giant mess on the floor next to it.

You make your way to the purple hand monster that seems to be a receptionist. Talking to someone when you can't see their eyes is strange.

"Err, hello? I'm here with Mettaton's battery from Alphys."

"Ah! Yes!" The receptionist says. "BP will take you to him. BURGERPANTS!"

Your hope of just dropping off the battery without having to meet Mettaton dies inside of you as a cat monster slinks up to you. The cat, poor thing is apparently named Burgerpants, looks as excited to take you to him as you are to go see him. You hum a funeral march as you walk with BP. It takes BP a moment, but once he recognizes your tune (probably from an old human movie) he snorts.

"Any tips on getting out of here quickly?" You ask your escort, as he leads you down a short hallway.

"Don't let him talk about himself?" He gives you a smile before he twitches into a grimace. "Don't tell him I said that!" He knocks twice on the last door on the left.

"Come in darling!" A robotic voice calls through the door.

You go to ask BP to come with you, but he's gone. Fuck. You push open the door and – oh dear god, there's tacky and then there's this. The room is covered with the underground's one and only square star. The star himself is leaning on the bed, apparently trying to appear seductive.

"Why hell-lo human," he purrs. Or you think it's supposed to be a purr. As soon as you recover from that you realize – human. Alphys told him that you were a human.

"Nice to meet you, Mettaton," you lie. "Unfortunetly, I'm in a hur-"

"Please, have a seat. We have so much to discuss!" He cuts you off. "Now I've been sworn to secrecy about what you actually are, but I need your help. I know you're apart of some tedious experiment, but I simply must have a human's opinion on my next script! You'll be my human consultant! Top secret, of course!"

"I have your battery." You place it on the edge of the bed. Maybe if you pretend he didn't say anything, he'll take the hint.

"Oh yes, thank you." He uses his arms to push himself up and rolls towards you. He takes his right arm and twirls a finger through your hair. The discomfort of being this close to someone you don't know kicks up with a vengeance, even if they aren't human shaped. You feel sick. The room feels too small all of a sudden.

"Oh?" He removes his hand. "Are you alright darling?" Breathe on a count, ----. In: one, two, three, four; out: five, six, seven, eight. Repeat.

When you take in your surroundings again, Mettaton is across the room. His body language is the one of someone who is, actually, sorry.

"My apologies darling. I didn't mean to upset you. Please, consider my offer if you will."

* * *

 

 

You're almost put back together when you get back to Sans. If he notices that somethings off, he doesn't mention it. You're thankful. When you take his hand, you close your eyes and feel the pull behind your belly button for third time. Opening your eyes in your room at the inn, even though you know it's where you're going to be, still surprises you.

"Do you ever get used to it?"

"the feeling? yeah, it just takes time."

"No. Do you ever get use to just being where you want to go?" You don't know if that's the right wording the for what for what you really want to know.

"hmm. no. i wasn't always able to this, so it surprises me sometimes." He throws your jeans that were on your bed at you and turns around. "hurry up, i have surprise for you."

"Um, out?"

"and advertise to anyone who's here that i can teleport?"

You grumble as you shimmy out of your shorts and into your jeans. You're putting your boots back on when he turns around.

"cute socks." You laugh at him.

"Oh man, what if I start leaving my socks at your place? I bet Paps would freak. Do you think we could have a passive aggressive sticky-note fight, or is that your thing?" You grin and Sans grins back.

"he'd probably just give it back to you. i keep my room locked for the _sole_ purpose of keeping him out." You roll your eyes at his pun. You take his hand before he offers it this time and giggle at the feeling this time.

When you touch down at his sentry station at the outskirts of Snowdin, you're feeling giddy. It's hit you that all is right in your world. Sans is looking at you with a giant real grin on his face. He gives you a small pull before he lets you go, signaling you to follow him.

"Why do you wear gloves all the time? Doesn't the cold go straight through you?" He snorts.

"of all the questions to ask. and you're stealing my jokes at the same time," he looks at you so you can see the white pinpricks in his sockets roll. You're past the bridge before he says anything else. "me being a skeleton doesn't weird you out?"

It's your turn to roll your eyes and quip, "skeleton _monster_." He doesn't laugh. "No, it doesn't. Why?"

"no reason," he says, clearly deflecting. You'll let him have this. You're approaching the door to the ruins now. "now, not a word until i say otherwise."

He knocks on the door twice.

"Who's there?" You recognize that voice. Tori!

"juno."

"Juno who?"

"juno that i have a surprise for you?" Sans nudges you with his elbow. "say hi," he whispers.

 _'I don't know his name, I'm sorry...I don't typically tell people my name anymore.'_ Sans was her friend that swore to keep humans safe.

"Hi goat mom," you say lamely.

"Oh! ----, you're safe!" Tori sounds relieved.

"i told you she was," Sans sounds indignant.

"I meant no offense, it's just hearing it and hearing from her are two different things."

"How are things, T?"

"Fine. The guards found nothing. The captain wasn't happy from what I hear," she giggles.

Sans steps closer and mumbles that he'll be at his station when you need him. You just nod, because, well, Toriel.

"He's gone," you say. "Tori, I've missed you!"

"I've missed you as well ----. What have you been doing?"

You take a deep breath and tell her almost everything. You don't mention the experiments or the fact that you're willing to sacrifice yourself for them. You can only imagine how well that would go over. The two of you talk for what feels like hours. She's worried about you, but also proud that you've carved out a home for yourself. When she finally says that she needs to go, you're sad.

"Can we do this again?" You ask.

"Do you even need to ask? I'll have our friend bring you by."

"See you soon, T."

"Talk to you soon, dearest friend."

* * *

 

"Thank you Sans," you tell the skeleton when you walk up to him. "We need to talk, huh?"

"mhmm. grillby's?" Sans confirms.

"Sounds fantastic."

When he takes your hand again, you feel warmth and what you can only assume is magic on your palm. You know without looking that the smooth surface is his hand.


	14. It's Raining Somewhere Else

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of past abuse and very brief mentions of past rape/non-con.

You tried to apologize to Grillby when you got there for your outburst, but he wasn't having it. Sans plopped down in a booth right away, giving you a moment of privacy.

"Don't apologize. You made my year," Grillby sounds ecstatic. "Seeing someone yell at Sans? You couldn't have given me a better gift if you tried.'Go sit on a cactus'" He laughs, his flames radiating in pure joy. Oh man, you gave Grillbz a lot of ammo two nights ago...

"You're welcome... I guess?" He laughs again at your uncertainty. "Well, I need to go explain myself to a skeleton so... I'm going to go now." You excuse yourself, Grillby still laughing.

"you owe dinner for a month at least," Sans says as soon as you sit down in the both across from him. "every time he makes eye contact with me he laughs."

"Yeah, I do. Not just because of that though," you stop as Grillby walks up with drinks for you both. You think you hear him mutter 'cactus' again before he flickers in happiness. Sans drops his trademark grin to glare at the elemental, which just makes Grillby laugh harder. Now you do feel bad for your outburst being in front of him. He's clearly thrilled to be able to make fun of Sans.

"I shouldn't have said anything like I did. Don't get me wrong, you definitely deserved to be yelled at, but not like that."

You chug your drink quickly as Sans gawks at you. He goes to say something when you lift your hand to cut him off. "Not a word until I finish. Please." The bar is loud around you and you guess that this is probably the safest place to share this. Sans looks at you, nods his head, and gestures for you to continue.

"I told you the basics. I met someone two years ago as one person and I left a shell of myself. It started out normal enough. About four months in something changed. It was a slow change. Things that were fine before stopped being as fine as before. Things like I couldn't go out without them and they needed to know my work schedule all in the name of keeping me safe." Understanding dawns in Sans's sockets.

"More time went on and if I argued it went from getting the silent treatment to being shoved into things. If I tried to leave, they'd take my phone. Block my car in. That sort of shit," you take a deep breath. God, it feels good to let this out. You know you should stop, spare him the details, but now that you've opened this Pandora's box of yours it refuses to shut. "When I didn't leave from that, they started to hurt me more. Slaps, shoves, grabbing me rough enough to leave bruises. And the sex. Oh the sex. Did you know that it counts as rape even if you're in a relationship? That being coerced into sex against your will is rape?" You can feel the tears running down your cheeks, but the box isn't empty yet.

"The worst part is that none of that made me leave. It was the cheating of all things. I seriously believed that everything else was my fault. It took months to admit that I was in an abusive relationship." You wipe your eyes on your sleeves.

When you look up Sans is gone.

Before you can feel the sting of betrayal and rejection, you feel a presence next to you. It's Sans.

"scooch, will ya?" There's enough room for him already, but you do. He plops down casually next to you and slowly puts an arm around your shoulders. He's making sure that he has permission and that you aren't uncomfortable around him.

Your SOUL feels like it could burst.

"So I didn't see you the other night. I saw them. And all the things I wish I would have said to them...just sort of came out." San's arm that's over your shoulder pulls you close and he wipes away a newer tear. You take this chance to stare at his hand of all things.

It's shaped like a model skeleton's hand, but thicker to start with. The phalanges are shorter and lead into a normal sized palm. This probably isn't the best time to do this, but it's doing a good job of calming you down. You're jolted back to the present when Grillby places a water in front of you. A few more tears bubble out. You can't help it, it's so sweet that Grillby would risk touching water for you. He reaches across Sans, touches the shoulder closest to him, and gives you a burst of heat – his version of a hug.

He suddenly looks at Sans and crackles something at him. Sans groans. "i know grillbz, i'm working on it. stop gloating," Sans grumbles as your friend retreats back to the bar.

"You can understand him?"

"yeah, i've always been able to. i don't know why exactly, but my theory is that it has to do with how we're made." Seeing the curious look on your face, he continues. "so monsters are made of pure love and magic. it's a fact. my theory is that some of us are biologically more complicated than others. take undyne for example. she's all magic,yes, but she also has a skeleton, muscles, organs, ect – she's not a hollow shell. now monsters like me and grillbz, we're not made like that. I'm a _bone_ -afide magical skeleton and grillbz is sentient fire. since neither of us have complicated bodies, it's easier for my magic to hear his." Sans shrugs. "just a theory."

You're impressed and it does sort of make sense.

"he was reminding me to apologize to you," he mumbles. "like he needed to."

"Yeah, about that. My SOUL. Seriously?" You still feel mildly violated about that. "I was willing to let the first one slide, but why didn't you just ask?" You pull yourself out from under his arm and turn your upper body so that you can look at him.

"it's not quite as big of a violation as you think," he begins.

"The fuck it's not Sans. Undyne told me the two main reasons for it," You snap. Was he going to try and lie to you? Fuck that.

"no no no," Sans skull turns a bright blue. "jesus, fuck no. i can't see SOULs like that. i know i should have asked, but i panicked. i can only get the gist of if there's any LV or EXP. it's still an invasion of privacy to an extent but it's not," he gulps like he has a throat to clear. "i wouldn't look that closely even if i could."

It makes you feel a lot better to know that. You don't know what is so intimate about him being able to just see it, but the fact that he didn't look makes you feel better.

"shit, i shouldn't have tried so hard to hold you hostage here either," he makes it sound like this is painful to admit. "i could have just talked to you."

You look sheepishly at him, ready to let this argument die. "Eh, you should have but I probably wouldn't have listened honestly. We good?"

"that's it?"

"That's it."

"then we're good."

Grillby comes by with two burger and two bottles of ketchup as soon as the two of you put it behind you. He drops the food dramatically, still holding one bottle of ketchup in his hand.

"Sans – you get one bottle. ----- if he takes yours and drinks it too, I'll ban you both from here for a week." Grillby is staring at Sans as he hands the skeleton his ketchup.

"How would you pay the light bill if we left for a week?" You ask.

Grillby gives an unattractive snort, turning his gaze to you. "You don't really think Sans pays his tab do you? By the way, you look like shit."

"Oi!" You call after him. You knew that you probably had blotchy skin and red eyes from crying, but he didn't have to tell you that. Sans chuckles.

"hey, i just wanted you to be safe and you told me to go sit on a cactus since you didn't think i could go fuck myself. he tells you that you look like shit and barely gets yelled at."

"Whoops?"

The two of you eat in relative silence, everything hashed out at last. You feel lighter and,even more than that, cared for. You'd told another person, one that you didn't pay, about your history and they didn't laugh at you. You glance over at Sans as he takes a swig of ketchup. He didn't laugh and he treated your personal space with respect.

"so how'd it go with al and undyne?" Sans wants to know once you're both done eating.

"Good. I've learned a lot about SOULs," you shrug, "We start researching options for real tomorrow." After all the honesty you just had, you hate lying to him now. He doesn't need to know about the fact that the "research" is actually experimenting on your SOUL for starters.

"any ideas?" The question sounds innocent, but you know Sans. He's trying to get details. You just laugh it off.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

* * *

 

When you join Alphys in the morning, you aren't surprised to see Undyne there. You can immediately tell that their argument hadn't been resolved in the least. They both look even more tense around each other. The scientist is twitchier than usual and the captain is practically radiating irritation.

Oh boy, this is going to be a fun day.

"S-s-so t-today is going to be s-simple enough," Alphys keeps switching her gaze to Undyne. "W-we're just going to e-extract your SOUL and see how it r-reacts when we just talk. W-we're going to see how different emotions impact it."

"Sounds good."

* * *

 

By the end of the day, you're beat. It turns out that SOUL work is tiring for you. It had been awkward as hell today. Undyne hadn't said a word, she'd just drawn your SOUL out and watched. You couldn't forget she was there if you wanted to. Her presence demanded to be noticed and poor Alphys had been a nervous wreck. You're glad she had a video camera and a tape recorder, her hands were shaking too bad to take notes.

The plus for today's research was that not only did it look like your SOUL's color pattern shifted throughout the day, but it also looked like you and Alphys might actually be able to be friends. When you two started talking anime and you'd said that you'd never heard of Mew Mew Kissie Cutie... Man, you thought she was going to implode.

Another plus was that she asked if you could start at noon instead of nine in the morning. You'd agreed, excited to tell Papyrus that your training could resume. In a world where you basically ate nothing but carbs, you had to get some exercise in somewhere. After all, it's not like there was a mall with a huge selection of human clothes for you to chose from.

From the lab, you go straight to the brothers' place.

"PAPYRUS!" You shout as soon as he opens the door.

"----!" Paps pulls you up into a hug and walks you into the house. Your feet are dangling and you hear Sans chuckle from the couch. It'd only been, what, three days since you'd seen him? It felt like it'd been longer.

"I got two bits of exciting news!" It's hard not to be loud with him. He's contagious like that.

"OH?"

"One – I can train with you in the mornings again. " How on earth is a skeleton this strong? "And two... Guess who I met?" You sing-song out the last part.

"WHO?"

"Mettaton."

Papyrus gasps. "WHAT WAS HE LIKE?"

"Just like he is on TV," you think that this a good enough answer. It's not a lie and it's better than "Paps I'm pretty sure his head is up his own non-existent robotic ass". "He asked me to be his 'human consultant'."

"OH THAT IS AMAZING NEWS!" He spins you a few times and you think you hear Sans growl. "ARE YOU GOING TO DO IT?"

"Paps – down please? I'm dizzy." It isn't a lie – being spun by a strong skeleton that is at least 6'4 has your world spinning. He gently places you in the middle of the couch before sitting on the other side of you. "Nah, I'm not taking it. I'm all for danger, but I'm not crazy."

You hear Sans hum his approval next to you. So he had growled. "However, I was going to tell him no in person and I think I'd like an escort through Hotland... Want to come with me Paps?"

Paps manages to shriek out a "YES" before he has to start pacing to let off some steam. When he runs up to his room, Sans pulls you into his side. His grip isn't tight, you notice, you could easily break free if you wanted to. You don't. You want to selfishly enjoy being pressed so tightly to Sans. You don't want to make things weird by admitting your weird inter-species crush on him, but you would allow yourself to enjoy the little things like this.

"you're going to pay for this." His growl in your ear is playful.

"Oh, I have something to make it up to you already."

"oh?"

Papyrus darts down the stairs into the kitchen, mentioning that he was going to cook dinner now. Sans visibly flinches, obviously worried about an excited Paps cooking. You slip from his grasp and dart up the stairs. He's not paying attention. You clear your throat.

When he looks up at you, you (grinning as big as the Cheshire cat and not breaking eye contact) dramatically pull a sock from your jacket pocket and gingerly place it in the corner next to Papyrus's door.

When you come back down, he's having such a hard time not laughing that his bones are rattling. "you're the worst."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this chapter was incredibly therapeutic in its own way since Reader's experience is based very loosely on my own. My own ex wasn't "that bad" and it wasn't until I was out that I realized that I had been in an abusive relationship for almost two years. It took even longer for me to realize that what had happened to me classified as rape.
> 
> Consent is sexy. If you have to (or have to be) coerced into sexual acts then don't have sex. If the person is too intoxicated, don't have sex. If your partner is abusive in any way, don't tell yourself that "this is fine" while you wait for it to get better, because it doesn't (at least it doesn't without professional help). Get out before you lose yourself. 
> 
> /endsoapboxrant


	15. Head Over Heels

"WAKE UP BROTHER! WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE!"

It's the same way every reset starts.

Sans feels his SOUL nearly shatter. No no no! Fuck! After three months of no resets, he's finally begun to believe that they were finished. He's been waiting for something bad to happen, for some sort of divine intervention to take away this fragile hope of his that's been growing. Here it is – a random reset. He's been so happy again, looking in the mirror and starting to find the remnants of the skeleton he once was there.

He doesn't want to open his sockets and see his ceiling. You'd all been laughing at Mettaton's recent travesty of a movie last night. That's the last thing he remembers; he must have fallen asleep during it. When he forces them open - wait, that's the TV.

Sans notices that he's extremely warm. There's a blanket above him and he actually can't move easily. What's going on? He moves his skull up just a bit and it's you. He could cry he's so relieved. Not a reset. Not only is it you, but you're holding him. He's snuggled up with you, his skull under your chin, and he can hear your heartbeat from where he's at on your chest. He shifts and feels your fingers snag on his ribs through his thin night shirt. _Oh that feels nice._ It's clear that you both feel asleep and ended up like this while asleep since this isn't the most comfortable position to be in and that Papyrus had tucked the two of you in. Speaking of Papyrus...

Sans eyes the room without moving and spots his brother at the top of the stairs, arms crossed, with a smirk like he's never seen before on his brothers face. He looks positively evil and Sans knows that he's been caught. He's noticed Papy watching the two of you, trying to figure out the puzzle that's in front of him... and now, Sans' has given him the answer. The magic in his bones heats up his face in a blush.

Sans reluctantly moves to slip out of your grasp, unintentionally waking you up. You're groggy and confused at first, then you meet his gaze and blush. He revels in the fact that you don't immediately let go.

"hey i gotta -" "Shit, I -" you both go to say something before Papyrus cuts the tension in the room for him.

"SANS WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE." It's not until Paps yells again that you drop your arms.

Sans rolls his eyes, since it's not like he can't teleport or anything if they were really going to be late, and in an act of defiance shortcuts to his room. He throws off his pajamas and flings himself into his usual clothes. In record time, he's at the foot of the stairs again. Now that he's up, he's all nervous energy.

You're sitting up on the couch now and looking at him. You look adorably flustered as you try to discreetly pop your joints (he remembers the first time him and Paps heard your spine pop and how scared they'd both been for you. Once you'd explained that it was normal, it had gone from a sound like nails on a chalkboard to him to something erotic), rusty from sleep. There's a loud _'pop!'_ from your neck and he's blushing again, reminded that there's a skeleton like his own under that skin and those muscles.

"do you need to go to the lab today?" He's remarkably proud of the fact that his voice doesn't crack when he asks you.

"Not today. I have the day to recoup. Why?" You're awkwardly twisting your neck, clearly trying to work out what you'd called a "kink in your neck" after your first sleepover. Your voice is scratchy from sleep.

"stay," he says quietly. "it's a short shift. i have something i want to show you. something i need to tell you about." He carefully moves a hand to the back of your neck, feeling you relax into him, and uses his magic to warm his hand. Out of curiosity, he presses a little harder and, yep, there's a cervical vertebrae. He can already tell just by this one touch that his spine is thicker, but... He wants to explore you.

He's getting distracted in a very dangerous way in front of you.

"'Kay", you say, sighing in contentment as he imagines that the heat and pressure relaxes the tension. "I'll be here." He sees the excitement in your eyes and his SOUL warms. He's unbelievably hyper aware of you – he knows that this is absolutely ridiculous for a monster that isn't even in a relationship to be this in tune with someone else. Does he care? Nah.

Papyrus bounds out of the kitchen and grabs him by his hood before he can say anything else. He wants to say something, but doesn't know what. He doesn't get a chance to say anything before he's yanked up into the crook of Papyrus' elbow.

"BE BACK SOON!" Papyrus is out the door before he finishes that sentence.

As soon as the two of them are in the forest, Papyrus drops him in a snow poff. He gives his little brother an indignant "unf" as the light chill hits his bones.

"SOOOO... WHAT'S GOING ON WITH YOU AND ----? I THOUGHT YOU WOULD AT LEAST MENTION THAT YOU LIKE HER TO ME."

Even though he knew it was coming, he feels himself blush again. "i dunno paps." It's the truth.

"YOU DON'T KNOW?" Papyrus gives him a playful glare before that smirk returns. Papyrus didn't smirk, what was this? "LET ME GUESS. YOU HAVEN'T ACTUALLY TALKED TO HER ABOUT THIS YET."

Sans shrugs. He doesn't give Papyrus enough credit with a lot of things. Like the fact that Papyrus knows him as well as he does. He's forgotten about how sharp his little brother actually is after all of the resets. He's never considered him stupid, but after living the same week for so long, the memory of his brother's sharp mind had faded a bit. He stomps down his guilt about that for the time being.

"THAT'S STEP ONE IN MY DATING HANDBOOK. WOULD YOU LIKE TO BORROW IT?" Paps is clearly mocking him now with that wicked grin.

"ugh. it's complicated bro."

"Because she's human?" Papyrus voice is low – even though Undyne knows there's a human living among the monsters, they still don't want to risk harm coming to you.

"part of it." That's not a lie. A monster with a human. With the way things were, was there even a future there?

Papyrus scoffs. "If she had a problem with what we are, she wouldn't be here. She'd be gone. " He looks thoughtful as they continue their walk together. Sans is thinking of a knock knock joke to test on him when Papyrus speaks up again.

"Is it...dad?" Sans stops dead in his tracks. They didn't talk about Gaster since that night. They didn't talk about what Gaster did to him before he decided to become one with the CORE. How it's probably all his fault that Sans is aware of time jumping around.

The week after Gaster had died, Papyrus had gone to confront Sans. It's Sans' biggest regret. Papyrus had only wanted to know why. Why were they leaving their home? Why had Sans just quit? Why was Sans ignoring Alphys and the King's summons? It was the one time he'd lost control of his temper at Papyrus. Up until the Mettaton pasta incident, Gaster's name was a silent tension at all times.

Until the day he turns to dust, Sans will never forget the look on Papyrus' face when he summoned a Blaster to threaten him. The day that Papyrus had finally pieced together that Gaster had done something to his brother.

"...that's a big part of it," Sans finally admits. "look bro, i shouldn't have..."

"NO, YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE," Papyrus steps back into his normal persona. "BUT YOU SHOULDN'T LET DAD'S ACTIONS STOP YOU FROM BEING HAPPY." The two start walking again, Sans struggling with if he should tell Paps about what Gaster had actually done to him.

"You... We aren't dad, Sans. We were grown from him and him alone, yes, but we aren't him. You're more than what he made you for, brother."

Sans stops in his tracks again while Papyrus walks ahead. He'd had no idea that Papyrus had known what they actually were. When he gets moving again, he realizes that he needed to hear that.

His brother really is the absolute best.

* * *

 

Sans is sitting in his Snowdin station, nerves building. Papyrus, back to his normal self, had went to check out his puzzles, giving him a much needed break. Paps didn't know it, but he was still one step ahead of the plan.

Today was the day that he was going to tell you about the resets. Maybe one day he'd tell Papyrus too, but he'd start with you.

After you completely opened up to him something had changed between the two of you. At first, he thought he'd just been grateful that you hadn't walked away from being his friend. He had still had his crush, but he shoved it aside. For all of a day.

Did you know what signals you were sending him? Did humans flirt differently? Were you just being extra friendly? He didn't know and with the threat of a reset looming over him, he didn't dare try anything. Indulging in romance would bring him nothing but heartache.

In the past month, the little hole you'd carved into this world had grown even bigger. You'd befriended Alphys within a week and even had managed to befriend Undyne. He didn't pry into what you were doing in the lab anymore. You were happy and unharmed, so there was zero reason for him to pry into whatever it was you were doing. You respected his privacy and he would do the same for you.

Sans' magic gives a strong pulse as he thinks about you and Tori. Oh, Tori hadn't given her name to him this timeline which is fine with him. You're trying to convince the former queen to come out and it seems like you're making progress. She hadn't mention to either of you who she really was, but she no longer seems certain that she needs to be locked away in there. He's happy that Tori seems happy, the two of them talk freely even when you aren't there now. It seems like she's thinking unlocking the door, to at least step one foot back into the world.

That's never happened before. This is all new. He's out of his depth, but now he doesn't get angry about it - he embraces it.

He's tired of resisting the pull you have on his SOUL. He wants to let himself at least try to love you, consequences be damned.

Before he can do that, he needs to tell you about the resets. He needs to tell you a bit more about his relationship with Gaster. He's been seeing Gaster's old followers more and more recently. They're getting harder to ignore, trying to speak with him.

He can't move forward with you unless he tells you. He may not have the most experience with relationships, being a skeleton monster made sure of that, but he knows you (or anyone he would want to be involved with) deserves to have at least the general idea of what he's been through.

So three days ago after work, he'd gone into his workshop not to tinker or to write anything new in his journals. Armed with a highlighter, he'd started going through a few of his journals, highlighting what he really wanted you to read. A few from when he first pieced together that something was wrong (how he first hypothesized that Gaster's homemade machine that did god-knows-what wouldn't be affected by the resets), a few from the middle, and his most recent one. All of his cards on the table. He'd finished his mission right before you'd gotten to their place for movie night. The last sentence in his current journal simply read: _'Rst#276- D.110: I'm going to tell her. I want her to know. I need her to know'_.

Two more hours on the clock. He's so busy being anxious, magic crackling in his nervous excitement, that he almost doesn't hear the sound of the door opening.

"tori?" he mumbles to himself. Had she decided to come out? He, out of habit, teleports into the tree line.

His SOUL fractures.

Frisk.

No. It had been so long. Why are they here? He's barely thinking, barely aware of anything other than his fear.

When they get to the bridge, he appears to do his usual song and dance with them, but realizes that he's forgotten the exact words to his part.

Frisk turns around and Sans feels his SOUL turn to dust.

Just like the dust that coats their hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"With one foot in the past_   
>  _Just how long will it last?_   
>  _No No No_   
>  _Have you no ambition?"_
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  I rocked out to some Tears for Fears while writing this chapter.
> 
> \----  
> I also rewrote this sucker like three times. *throws hands up in disgust*
> 
> ANYWAY, the plot has arrived!
> 
> Also I made a side tumblr for this. Click [here](http://meg-rae29.tumblr.com/) to wonder at my depravity.


	16. Time Is Not a Strict Progression of Cause to Effect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this all edited and ready to post in AO3, before Spawn closed the window out. Lesson learned, no final edits in here.
> 
> WHOVIAN DISCUSSION: Thoughts on Calpaldi's Doctor? 
> 
> Visit my incredibly naked side tumblr here [here](http://meg-rae29.tumblr.com). Or don't, it's naked and I'm absolute garbage at updating my "real" one any way.

You'd gone back to the Inn for a shower and to change. You'd be back way before Sans was off work. What had gotten him so worked up this morning? He'd been fine last night before he'd fallen asleep sitting up during Mettaton's most recent movie. He'd started to lean on you when you must have fallen asleep and then next thing you know, you're being woken up by an extremely nervous skeleton trying to work his way out of your arms. Your shower done, you're in the room in your jeans and a bra, towel drying your hair before throwing your shirt on, when Sans sudden blips into your room.

"Dude, what the fuck?" You snap at him, dropping your towel over your chest. You know that this guy knows what personal space and boundaries are – in the three months you've known him, he hasn't unlocked the door to his room once. Of course he may have just lost the key. You go to snap at him again, when you see the look on his face.

Terror.

"get dressed and pack your stuff up." He sounds so tense, so worried, that your irritation melts.

"Is Asgore coming into town?" It had been a worry for a while now. He regularly just stops by the different areas from time to time, so you'd been expecting it.

" _\---- please_. hurry." You don't argue with that face. You finish getting dressed in a hurry; Sans is already shoving the stuff you'd spread out across the small room into your backpack. You grab your bag out of his hand and finish stuffing the few other trinkets you'd acquired into the bag. Before you can question it, he's wrapped an arm around you and you feel the now familiar pull in your belly.

You weren't prepared, so of course your eyes are open. For the first time you see what you think he'd called the void once upon a time. It's so dark. Darker than the darkest black and now that you're aware of it, it has substance. You feel like you're choking on it. There's something big and white in the distance, but before you can examine it, you're out. You're in a room you've never been in before. It's a small room and you're reminded of a doctors office. It feels sterile with its pastel blue paint and pale lavender tile. One wall is has a large counter on it with nothing but a set of blueprints on it. At the end of the room there's something under a tarp, next to it was an extra-large black bean bag chair with some composition books on it.

"my workshop," Sans explains. "i never actually stopped dabbling. i just had...personal projects i wanted to work on." His warm hand grasps yours, leading you toward the bean bag chair.

"Sans, what's going on?" You're worried, his fear is becoming contagious. You've seen Sans angry, you've seen him sad, you've seen him worked up, and you've seen him happy. You've never seen him scared before.

"i wanted to be here with you when you went through them. i wanted to be able to explain as you read, but i can't now. i have to make sure – well, you'll see. read them," he says not hearing you, gesturing to the books. "the highlighted parts at least." He grabs one of the books and puts it back into whatever that is under the tarp. "it's the most recent one. don't want it out in case... you'll see."

He sighs and pulls you into his arms. This is new. Even though your heart is pounding with fear, you manage to blush. You can feel the strength of his bones through his jacket, feel the warmth that you're pretty sure is his magic humming through them as well. You feel his mouth press against your forehead.

A kiss.

Your brain short circuits for a second as he nuzzles his nasal cavity against your forehead. Why is he acting like this? You dismiss the thought that this some sort of a prank the second the thought occurs to you. Why is he acting like the world is ending?

"the door is locked already, do me a favor and stay put. i'll be back in a bit. i'll answer any questions you have then." Sans sounds distraught. "start with the one on top," he adds.

"Be careful Sans," you mumble as he steps away. In the blink of an eye, empty space is in front of you. You give the room a once over again, drop your bag on the counter, plop down into the bean bag, and begin to read.

* * *

 

_Entry I – Something strange is going on. I've had several feelings of deja vu over the past few days. It's not normal for me period, so I'll put this in Gaster's machine to see if something strange is actually happening._

_Or maybe G's experiment is making me lose my mind too._

_Entry II – There's a human in the underground. Another child. I guess I should keep my promise to the old lady and keep them safe._

_Entry III – The kid died at Undyne's spear just now. I remember it. It happened. But then there was a moment when everything felt wrong and I'm home and the kid's walking into my house like nothing happened._

* * *

 

What? You don't know what to think.

* * *

 

_Entry VI – Something's wrong. My friend hasn't come to the door in days._

_Entry X – She's back this time. What the hell happened?_

_Entry XII – I think I know what happened to my friend behind the door before. The kid came out with dust on them this time. Not much. When I looked at their SOUL they had a LV of five. Did she try to stop them from leaving?_

_Entry XX – They're covered with dust this time._

_Entry XXI – They killed Paps._ (handwriting is extra sloppy on this one, dried tears surround this entry)

_Entry XXII – They reset completely when they couldn't get past Undyne. Did she take DT?_

_Entry L – I did my job. It took them a few tries before they gave up, but I got them. Feeling LV come and go from my SOUL is sickening._

_Entry LXX – I wonder if they remember the past timelines? Sometimes I think I see recognition in their eyes._

_Rst.17 D.3 - New format. I don't know enough roman numerals for this shit. How long is this going to go on for? They're still in the ruins, but I bet they'll be out later today. There's no pattern to dust or no dust so...which kid will I get?_

_Rst.18. D.1 - For one glorious night, we were free. The kid – Frisk – freed us. Then I woke up back in Snowdin._

_Rst.18 D.2 - I think that flower has something to do with it. He popped up again, but this time mocked me about the last reset._

* * *

 

You flip through the books, unable to stop reading. You read all the highlighted passages and some of the ones that he didn't highlight too. This is what Sans has been hiding. Everything makes sense to you. Well, not everything, but he makes sense to you now. Why he threatened you, why he was so protective of Paps, why he was so awkward around you at first, why he was so worried about your safety now.

* * *

 

_Rst.50 D.3 - This morning I noticed that some of the marks on me from when they kill me are permanent. There's a thin... I think humans call it a scar.... across my sternum._

_Why am I the only one that remembers?_

_Rst.67 D.1 - I tried committing suicide, just to see what would happen._

_I fucking woke up in Snowdin again._

_Rst.98 D.4 - I've started having night terrors. When I close my sockets I see a red-eyed Frisk, my brother's scarf, and I feel that damn knife cutting through my ribs._

_Rst.142 D.6 - We're free again for who knows how long. Frisk seems tired._

 

* * *

 

You want to think this isn't possible. Not since it seems impossible. No, you know better. You fell down a hole in a mountain on new years day and discovered that monsters and magic were real for fucks sake – you're not going to knock the idea of time not being linear (You let out a mad sounding giggle and mumble "wibbly wobbly, timey wimey" to yourself even just to break the silence). No, you believe him.

You just can't imagine the torture that it must be to relive the same days over and over again, being the only one that remembers. Well besides Flowey – Flowey's words to you make sense now too. "You're messing everything up" he'd screamed at you that day that he sent bullets into your back. You weren't supposed to fall that morning – the kid was.

Had you always been there and just let them fall before? Had that moment when time seemed to stop, when you saw yourself just talking to them, happened before?

There's a shift in the air and you know Sans is back before you even look up. "God Sans... What can I do?" You hear him gasp. Apparently you picked something to say that he wasn't expecting.

When he doesn't answer you keep talking, "Everyone in town-"

"has been evacuated. once i dropped you off, i told grillbz what was going on and called alphys. anyone who would go is gone by now." He's looking at you in disbelief. "you believe me?"

"Yes." You stand up to be closer to his eye level.

"just like that?"

"Sans, three months ago I fell down a hole and discovered that there has been an entire group of people made of magic trapped here for centuries," you raise an eyebrow at him. "Believing in time travel or whatever this is isn't exactly stretch right now."

You're crashing into Sans' ribs before you can finish your sentence. When he pulls away, he's wiping at his face. "knew i shoulda told you sooner." Relief is all over his voice, his face, his posture.

"Do we have time to talk or should we wait..?"

"they're currently killing anything in their way in the forest. we have a bit," he says, resignation in his voice. He plops down on the bean bag and you join him. "shoot me your questions – gimmie a few at a time. i'll answer what i can."

You think for a second – you'd gotten so caught up in the narrative that you hadn't actually thought of any questions. You can only think of two on the spot. "How long has it been? Is this my first time here?"

"can't think of anymore off the top of your head?" You shake your head sheepishly and shrug. "it's been about three years, i think. it's hard to know for certain with the different lengths of their runs and me not always knowing if they've reset or not. this is the first time for you. it's also the longest one ever at over a hundred days."

"Any ideas on why?"

"nope. i've gotten nothing. they just keep coming back. i think they keep coming back because of their red SOUL .it's trait is -"

"Determination," you finish for him as you eye the machine under the tarp. "What's that?"

It's Sans' turn to shrug. "gaster's who knows what. since alph and i think that he was scattered across space and time, i figured that the resets wouldn't mess with it. i was right."

"Tell me about... you mentioned loads in your journal?"

Sans tells you about loads, saves, and resets. About how he could be in one place doing something and suddenly, it would be a few minutes to a few hours earlier. Once he starts, you think he forgets how to stop. You remember that feeling. There's so much bottled in there that he starts telling you about seeing the stars for the first time and having them yanked away from him in the blink of an eye. Of how he at one point had a crush on Tori before the resets made it impossible to care anymore –no progress, just the same conversations again and again. Of how he isn't even happy when they get to the surface anymore since it's all just back to the beginning in less than a week. Of how, until three months ago, all his interactions had boiled down to 'if I say/do x, they'll say/do y'.

"Can I put something in there?" You gesture to Gaster's machine. It's been a few minutes since Sans had run out of the steam. The bean bag had, in true bean bag fashion, started to give under the combined weight of you, so the two of you were pressed together.

"hmm?"

"I mean... there's a chance that I won't be back, right? Or that I won't remember you guys if I do?" You can't imagine forgetting the past three months. What would you do if you woke up in your bed again on new years morning? You were so happy here.

It dawn on you right then that Tori was dead. You sit up so quickly that you feel Sans startle and put your face in your hands. Tori...

Sans seems to understand where your mind is, since he just puts an arm around you. "yeah, go ahead."

You go and grab your bag, walking over to the machine. Sans had opened it already (magic you figure since he hadn't moved) and you pull letters out of the bottom of it.

"whatcha got there?"

"You'll see if I don't come back," is all you say. He doesn't need to know about your work with Alphys or your deal with Undyne.

"Are there rules to this?" You blurt out once you place the letters in there. There's so many notebooks in here.

"why would there be rules?"

"Uh, never mind." Now isn't the time to try and explain human movies. "Do you have pen and paper? I want to write myself a note."

Sans stands finally and rather than grabbing a sheet of paper, he pulls out a composition book and flips to his most recent page.

"i'll show you sooner if this resets." 'If you're here' is left unsaid.

You write quickly, telling yourself about your time and feelings here. You focus on the big picture, not the details. Within minutes you hand Sans his book back, but not before seeing that this was reset two hundred and seventy-six.

When Sans looks over at you again, he looks sick.

"i'll be back in a few. i gotta do something."

"Wait! What's going on?"

Sans closes his eyes as if in pain. "papy."

He makes himself watch that?

"i watch every time. keeps my anger up. keeps me going." He answers the unspoken question. How many times has he watched his brother die?

He doesn't answer that one.

You throw your bag over your shoulder. "Well, let's go." Sans opens sockets, clearly shocked. "He's my friend, he deserves...," you don't know what you're trying to say about Papyrus. You need to be there. You need to see it with your own eyes. "...I want to be there for you."

You think you hear Sans muffle a sob when he grabs your hand.


	17. Enter the Demon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't just let that cliffhanger ride.

You're in the tree line between Snowdin and Waterfall with Sans before you can blink. It's so hard to see through the dense snowfall, but you can just make out the Papyrus' silhouette. Can't you do something?

"i tried once," Sans sounds defeated. You hadn't realized that you'd said that last bit out loud. "the anomaly... they loaded from inside the ruins. they didn't kill anything on their way from the ruins to here. when i looked at their soul, i could tell they'd killed, but maybe it was self defense? maybe something startled them? they 'fought' my brother by refusing and, when he finally accepted that they could be friends... they stabbed him. when he was down, they stepped on his skull. then they just looked at me and smiled," he shivers next to you and you know he's reliving it.

How barbaric.

Through the snowfall, you see the shadow of a human child approach them. You hadn't really gotten a good look at them that day - they're so tiny. The snowfall returns to a normal gentle fall, allowing you to see. You see that Papyrus is talking to them, but you can't hear anything. The kid just keeps walking forward.

Sans is squeezing your hand so hard it might break.

Frisk strikes quickly and without mercy. This is a show for Sans, you feel it. They could have easily dealt a blow that would have killed him instantly. You watch Papyrus be decapitated. He's still talking, even though his body is gone. Then he's gone, all that’s left of him is a scarf on the snow like a puddle of blood and dust.

The anger in your veins trumps your sorrow. You pull your hand out of his and run down the bank. Paps didn't know how to be cruel, but you did. Sans was resigned to the fact that there was nothing he could do, but you aren't.

"What's your problem kid?"

Frisk's red eyes are on you. They're eyeing you up, searching for a weapon, a weakness. In their hand is a small knife. It looks fake, but still sharp. They smirk.

"You going to try and kill me too? There's just one issue kid. I'm not a monster. That," you point to the knife,"might hurt me, but it's not going to kill me. You can't draw out my SOUL to do any damage by yourself either."

They hesitate. Good. You step forward and they step back. Are you really willing to hurt a child? Something touches your foot. Papyrus' scarf. You pick it up, feeling hatred coil in you.

Yes, yes you could hurt a child.

Their red eyes are examining you again. It's not the same once over as it was before, you feel as if your very SOUL is being examined. You feel all of your regrets from the past three months prickling at your spine. All of the pain that you've ever experienced feels like it's being examined by this child. The warmth in your chest is back now. Time slows and you _know_. How you know, you aren't sure, but you do. This isn't the child from the surface. This is something wearing their skin.

Whatever this is in front of you isn't human. It's a demon wearing human skin.

"But they're not alone." Shit, you know that voice! "They have me!"

At Frisk's feet, Flowey emerges from the ground. His face twists into that demonic grin once more.

"I thought you'd ruined everything, but it turns out that you've just made it more fun! Should we kill her now Chara? Or should we wait until later so that it reallllllyyy hurts that smiley trashbag?"

Sans is by your side now, magic cackling openly.

"you," Sans growls out.

"Yes, me. Tell me, idiot, did you really think this was over?" Sans says nothing, you just feel the void open. You feel something over the two of you, something huge, dangerous, powerful. You glance up and see what looks like the bottom of an animal skull. Whatever this is, it's what was shimmering next to Sans when you first met him. You're glad it's not pointed at you this time.

Flowey just glares as he summons bullets. "I think we should kill her here Chara. Right on top of that fool's dust! I bet the smiley doofus will even kill himself for us again if we do!"

The kid steps forward and raises the knife at the same time that the bullets start to close in.

"fuck off, ya weed." He grabs your hand and you feel the now familiar feeling of the void pulling at you.

You don't close your eyes.

* * *

 

You touch down in Hotland at Alphys's door. The anger in you fades once you look at the red scarf in your hands. A few tears leak out before you can control yourself – now isn't the time. You've got to... What do you need to do? You just can't break down now. Ah. You've got to hold yourself together for Sans. That's the way you'll hold yourself together. You're waiting for the yelling from Sans, but it doesn't come.

"so stupid," he mumbles in your general direction. "so so so stupid." He ushers you into the lab where Alphys and Undyne are waiting.

"Where's Papyrus?" Undyne immediately asks. You don't answer, you're still looking at Sans. You don't have to, she must see the look on your faces and the scarf in your hands. At the same time that Alphys mumbles "no", Undyne lets out an anguished wail.

"Not Papyrus. No, god, not Papyrus," she's on the floor, sobbing into her hands, when you tear your eyes from Sans. "No no no no no." Alphys gives a big sniffle before she pulls herself together. You watch as she like you, quiet clearly, puts her sadness in a box and slams it shut.

"G-go sit down Sans," Alphys says, giving him a light shove. "I k-know you're angry, b-but right now y-you're useless to us." Was this the same Alphys you know? She grabs your hand and pulls you towards her large computer screen. It's focused on the Snowed Inn.

"T-the human is in there," she says, all business. "P-probably r-resting. We n-need eyes on this at all times. T-that's your j-job right now." You can do that.

"Darling what is it? You know I'm busy! I just can't -," Mettaton strolls in and smartly cuts himself off at the scene before him. Why on earth did she summon Mettaton here? What could he possibly do? "What's going on darling?"

"P-prepare to evacuate the hotel and Hotland. There's a h-human on a k-killing spree." Alphys, bless her, was putting her own grief on hold to deal with business. "I'll contact everyone I can in Waterfall." She was taking charge. "When you're done, go work on your body. I can't and it needs -"

"Needs to be done. Got it, darling. Should I reach out to New Home as well?" Mettaton asks, all business. The self-centered asshole that you met isn't present. This can't be the same Mettaton.

"N-no," this time it's Undyne that speaks. "I'll strike in Waterfall. No need to cause a complete panic yet. If I can't do it, then you evacuate New Home."

Mettaton just agrees and wheels off. Alphys looks worried now, but doesn't say anything. You look back to the screen and everything is just as it was. Snowdin looks just as peaceful as it did this morning. Like it hadn't been evacuated and half its denizens slaughtered.

"Alphys, can I talk to you for a minute? Alone?" Undyne sounds nervous.

"I n-need to," Alphys begins when Sans cuts her off, his voice gruff.

"i got evac duty. me and ---- will send anyone that comes to the lab." You nod again, agreeing. Undyne is looking at Alphys in a way that tells you that they clearly need a few minutes alone. You can give them that especially knowing that, unless Frisk resets, Undyne is going to die. Undyne takes Alphys's hand and takes her upstairs.

Sans joins you next to the computer. He doesn't say anything, just pulls his brother's scarf from your hands and wraps it around his neck.

* * *

 

When Undyne comes down in full armor, your heart breaks a little more. The two of them are holding hands now – Undyne's fingers wrapped around Alph's claws. Undyne had clearly told the little lizard how she felt and it's just going to be ripped away from them both.

"Does this always bring them together?" you ask in a low whisper.

"dunno. i'm usually already waiting for them."

At the door, Alphys and Undyne hold each other for a final few moments. They're talking, but you can't hear them. It's probably just as well since you know how this is going to end. On screen, Frisk (Chara?) emerges from the Inn.

"Guys?" You squeak out. You hate to be the one that breaks this moment up.

Undyne just nods and steels herself. She's gone before the three of you can say a word to her. Alphys sighs and walks over to the computer, claws tapping as she switches the cameras to Waterfall.

* * *

 

No one speaks until the kid goes to kill MK. NO! There's a second when you expect to MK turn to dust, but Undyne had protected him at the last second. She was hit. Alphys breaks the silence with a shriek. Undyne's hurt. She's fading. You and Sans are on Alphys in the blink of an eye. You wrap your arms around her as Sans watches the screen. Alphys is crying into your shirt when, rather than dissipating into dust, Undyne flickers and reforms as something truly terrifying.

"Holy shit." Her armor is different, darker, more jagged, and her eye is glowing. "Alph, look – your girlfriend is a badass." Alphys is still crying when she looks up and sees Undyne alive. You're glad that this isn't the Undyne that you had to fight last month.

Chara giggles and the fight begins.

"alphys, did you inject her with DT?" Sans asks after a few minutes. He'd written that question in his notes. Now he finally gets to ask.

"N-no," she sounds shocked. "I would never! Wait...how did you know about the DT?" Sans says nothing. "Oh god. Sans, he didn't." Sans says nothing. You're missing something here. Something big. Before any of you can say anything else, there's a whimper from the speakers. Undyne had hit the kid and hit them hard. She steps closer, preparing to end it – they strike first.

They've killed Undyne. You can't believe your eyes as she stumbles backwards. Even though you know from Sans's journals that they've killed her before, you somehow didn't think that you'd see it. Undyne is –was- so tough.

Alphys doesn't cry as Undyne calls out to her one last time. She's shaking. You haven't let her go since Undyne had transformed, but you pull her closer now. You feel the her tears soaking your shirt now, touching your skin. You and Sans watch as the captain slowly fades to dust. You're crying too, you realize. Undyne's killer is grinning now, eyeing the cave until they spot the camera. They give you a big smirk through the camera and shoot finger guns towards you. God. The invisible bullets hit your heart as they turn on their heel and walk back the way they came.

"i'm gonna kill that kid,"Sans states simply. There's no emotion in his voice. The magic radiating off him makes the hairs on your neck stand on end.

"That's not a kid," you mumble over Alphys soft cries. You feel for the woman in your arms tense. Sans doesn't react.

"W-w-what do you m-mean?" Alphys pulls away, tear stains streaking her scales. You recognize this stage of grief – she's trying to take the pieces of herself and force them together. To keep herself together in public. You'd be a hypocrite if you scolded her for it.

"In Snowdin, when I was talking to them before Sans came down. There was a moment where I could just feel that whatever that is, it isn't human. It looks human but... there's something demonic in there."

The two scientists are examining you now. You know it sounds nuts the second the words leave your mouth. Having a feeling isn't good science. There's no proof. How could you know?

"Flowey called it Chara," you say. You expected Sans' head to snap to attention (which it did), not Alphys'.

"W-what?" She gulps. "W-what did you say the f-flower called the human?"

"Chara?" You're confused now.

"I k-know that name. W-why do I k-know it?" She says to herself. Sans is clearly still processing something so he isn't talking. "I n-need to g-go downstairs. I k-know that name!"

Before she can bolt, you grab her wrist. "Hey, look, I get it. I know you need to keep busy and I'm not going to stop you. Just... take a moment to grieve." She goes to argue when you cut her off. "I've been in a similar place, I promise. You'll crash and burn if you don't take a little bit of time."

"I'll t-think about it," is all she says. You can't ask for more.

"go alph, we have human watch and evac duty."

"I'll be back with something we can use! I j-just know it!" She sounds like she's taken Undyne's determination into herself as she steps into the elevator. Sans taps some keys and the camera pops back onto Chara.

"Where are they going?" You don't get it. They could just keep moving forward and be here. It seems so counterproductive.

"back to snowdin to heal their wounds i bet." He smiles sadly at you. "they do this sometimes. take their time killing everyone."

"What do we do now?" You feel like you have to do something. You can't just sit here.

"we wait. watch them. take in anyone that wants refuge."


	18. Sinner's Respite

Sans was right. Chara (Frisk? Anomaly? What exactly should you call this murderer?) had limped back to the inn in Snowdin to rest. You hope that every step was excruciating to them. Now with some time between watching two of your friends get slaughtered, your mind is coming back online again. You're no longer in a haze and it seems that Sans isn't either. Now there's a new piece of the puzzle.

"chara," Sans seems to be testing the name out. "flowey called them chara... why is that significant? is it?" He isn't talking to you, he's thinking out loud. You can be his audience if he needs one.

"I'm all for trying to figure this out, but can we actually get comfortable? These chairs suck, the floor is tile, and we're going to be here a while."

"chara, chara...hmm.. oh. of course." He steps in front of you, raises his left hand, and pulls it towards him after a second. From over the railing of the second floor comes Alphys' boxed up bed.

"Her bed Sans?" The world may be ending, but this is a little much.

"got any better ideas?" Sans says, using his magic to pull it out to its full size. Lazy skeleton.

"Weren't Alph and Undyne just..." You don't finish that sentence. No matter how good of a friend you consider someone, you sure as hell aren't going to sit on a freshly sexed up bed. No matter the circumstances. Sans laughs an almost real laugh at your hesitation.

"relax, no sex happened." He sits down on the bed, facing the screen. When you still don't come over, the whites of his eyes do a full roll as he taps the side of his skull. "seriously, i'd have been able to hear it."

You give up and sit down next to him. He automatically leans on you. "Sans?" His face glows a light blue and you realize that he needs this right now. Presumably he'd been dealing with time resetting all by himself for almost three years. For one reset, he's not alone. He has someone he can lean on, someone who knows. You pivot, throwing an arm over his shoulders at the same time that you put leg around him, and gently pull him back down with you. He lets you pull him with no hesitation so that you end up like you were this morning (god, had it only been this morning?) except more comfortable. You’re laying flat on your back with him on top of you mostly sideways, the side of his skull pressed against your breasts.

You feel incredibly guilty about how much you like the feeling. There was a time and a place for this and _this wasn't it_. If your body could scoff at your mind it would as it ignores your complaints. There had been casual touches in the past month and what could have possibly been him flirting back at you; enough to fan the flame of your crush, but never anything so intimate as this morning. This morning...

_Now is NOT the time ----._

You just lay there, relaxing as much as you can with Sans pressed to you, waiting for monsters seeking sanctuary and wondering what comes next. God, what if you don't come back next reset? What will you being doing on the surface? What would Sans do? Would it be worse if you reset down here and don't remember anything?

"hey." Sans voice is quiet, like he's afraid to speak. "if this resets and you don't remember...would you want to know? i know you wrote yourself a note, but..." Ah, so you're not the only one thinking of the future.

"If?" You're bidding your time to think. Would you?

He's quiet and you're starting to think you overstepped when he clears his throat. "i sometimes hope that it just ends like this." You say nothing, just throw your other arm around him. He gives a sigh, relaxing even further into you. "whenever we're on the surface i just wait for the other shoe to drop, you know? if it ends here it's final. i'll just be dead."

"How many times have you killed them?"

"countless. they usually just load, i only get a reset from time to time. does that scare you?"

"No." It's a knee-jerk answer, but it's true. "Why did you start fighting them?"

"it's my real job. before he died, gaster set it up. i'm the judge of SOULs since I can see LV and EXP. there's a hall right before the king's throne room that is the hall of judgment. before the resets, if someone needed an audience with the king i basically made sure that they weren't going to try and dust him. so i wait there for them."

So Sans was the final line of defense for Asgore. You'd always known he was powerful, but this tells you how powerful. "What was that thing earlier?"

"gaster blaster," Sans knows what you're talking about right away. "they live in the void. gaster found a few of them ages ago, thought that they could be trained to break the barrier. they're powerful, but not that powerful. i've taken over raising them."

You trace small shapes onto his spine while he talks. When he's done, the two of you just...are for a few minutes.

"I'd want to know," you finally answer his question. "I don't want you to be alone anymore."

* * *

 

The two of you don't talk for a while. At some point, his hand finds yours and he intertwines his fingers with yours. You separate only to lead the depressingly few stragglers to the elevator. After an awkward moment when Sans clearly struggles with asking if you can keep holding him after the first time you get up (you just opened your arms to him as he danced around the actual question), the two of you just immediately go back to cuddling each time.

Cuddling with Sans. Your heartbeat speeds up every time you pull him towards you, but if he notices it he doesn't say.

It's been around four hours since Alphys went down when she reappears with Mettaton in tow. She's ecstatic.

"I F-FOUND OUT WHO CHARA IS!" Mettaton 'tsk's at her excitement. "G-go Mettaton. B-be careful!" After Mettaton is gone, she flings a folder at Sans. Despite everything that's going on she giggles at seeing the two of you together.

"gaster's notes?" Sans sounds confused as he sits up .

"Remember the room where we studied as interns? Watch the unmarked tapes in there." She's vibrating she's so excited. "I'll be lookout for a few hours."

Right before you go in the elevator, she gives you a lewd wink. For the love of – not helping there Alph. Sans is blushing bright blue as he shoves his phone in his pocket once you're in and press 'down'.

"Alphys being lewd?" You try to sound chill, but fail spectacularly.

"yep."

* * *

 

The videos broke what was left of your heart. They weren't long, in fact it had taken less than thirty minutes to watch them all, but between what you saw and what Sans had told you... Tori had been the queen of the underground. She went to the ruins after her bio-child and her adopted human child had both died within twenty hours of each other. Chara was the first human to fall. When the last tape clicks off, neither of you move at first.

"i need a break," Sans tosses down Gaster's files so suddenly you jump. He's up and pacing, clearly worked up, but not wanting to disturb the monsters in the other rooms.

"Do you need to write down what all you've learned and take it to Gaster's...whatever?"

"nah, i'll remember all of this. i just can't handle all of this right now. i have so many questions, but no idea where to dig to get answers." He lets out a groan of frustration.

You walk over to him, not knowing what to say, when he just spins and _looks_ at you. Self-consciousness prickles at you, your heart racing. He takes a step forward, still giving you that look that has you paralyzed. He leans closer slowly, giving you all the chances to pull away, his sockets don’t close until you feel his breath on your face.

Your heart stops at the exact moment his jaw touches yours. You let your eyes flutter shut automatically. It's not like any kiss you'd ever had before. His 'lips' are malleable bone and you think that the spark that you're feeling may be actual magic. He pulls away and for a fraction of a second you're disappointed (No, too soon!) before he's pressing against you again.

That tongue – the one that he loves sticking out at you since he says your reaction to it doesn't get old – is against you lips now and you instinctively let him in. You're acutely aware of the fact that the two of you are now wrapped around each other and that, yep, that is definitely magic sparking at your tongue.

You feel when you're pressed against something (was that a wall? How did you get pressed against a wall?) at some point, but you're more aware of the bones pressing against yours. He's all angles and sharp edges pressing into you, and oh you don't mind in the least, but it brings him back to himself.

You're a mess of a human when he pulls away. God, it's better than anything you could have ever dreamed up.

"s-shit. i'm – fuck. i shouldn't have done that," he's breathing heavy.

Why not?

Oh, you can't find your voice. He's saying one thing, but he hasn't let you go yet. You need to find your voice before he pulls away. If he pulls away right now, well, you don't want him to think he's been rejected.

"Why not?" It takes you another minute before you’re able to get those two words out. Sans, already flushed a light cyan, blushes darker.

"i'm taking advantage of -"

"If you say me, no you're not. I want this. Want you. I just didn't think that you'd be into humans." Your throat is dry and your nerves are shot, but there's no point in being shy now. There's only a small chance you'll remember this so what can it hurt?

Sans is on you again before you can say anything else. He's all passion, pressing against you, fingers in your hair and, you sigh, under your shirt against your spine. He pulls away with some force and takes a giant step backwards.

He's staring at you again. He looks like he's getting ready to say something when he takes a deep breath in. He literally freezes. Uh?

"you...fuck." He gulps. "goddamn, you aren't lying. i can smell you." Sans can smell you? You try - and fail - to fight off a heavy blush. You aren't ashamed of wanting him but him knowing so easily is embarrassing.

"we can't. god." His voice cracks again. Ouch. Rejection stings. "there are kids in the next room or alphys could just walk in...fuck. i hate this."

You're not being rejected. He's being considerate to everyone else. It'd normally be sweet, but now? It's just frustrating. You try and think of alternatives that won't be heartbreaking -no going home now after all- when an idea forms. But first...

"Kids," you say. "Diseases. How does that work?" Being responsible sucks - if either are possible without protection, you'll stop this. If it was anyone but Sans you wouldn't go this far on a spur of the moment surge of lust.

"Diseases aren't possible. Made of magic and whatnot. Kids," he pauses for a second. "If it's possible, monsters don't have kids on accident. It involves SOUL work."

SOUL work? Fuck it, you'll ask later.

For now though...

"Well, I'm going to go take either a hot or cold shower. I haven't decided which yet."

He whimpers, clearly near the mark but not quite on it. "what's the deciding factor?" He's trying to slip into that facade that he wears for everyone. Nope. You can't have that.

"You." He freezes again, fake grin frozen half in place. "Depends on if you teleport in and join me." You hear him gulp right before his jaw actually drops.

You hear his jaw shut with an audible click behind you when you turn on your heel and walk away.

* * *

 

You're naked under the shower's heat, heart pounding in your ears, and torn between hoping he comes and hoping he doesn't. It feels good to be brazen. Or it would if your hands would stop shaking.

It had been months since you'd gone to bed with anyone already when you fell. Now it feels like its been a lifetime. You're a nervous wreck and you know it. If he doesn't show, you'll be crushed.

You're giving up hope, hand on the handle to just take a cold shower (no matter how turned on you are, touching yourself in a lab shower when there's death all around is where you draw the line) when you feel the shift in the air. Relief and arousal flood you all at once.

What would this even be like? He's clearly sexually interested in _something_.

There's that static-y feeling again and you feel his skull press on your shoulder. The fingers of his right hand trace your spine and his left hand makes its way around your waist, slowly making its way to your chest. You go to turn into him and his grip on you tightens, holding you in place. "nope," he says as he gives your shoulder a gentle nip. Both his hands are around you now, fingers pinching and rolling your nipples, trying to find what you like.

You whine and it's so embarrassing. He's too far away so you reach your arms up, wrapping them around his neck. God, you had to touch him somewhere. The shower is keeping you warm but that's not what you want. You want to know if the magic in those bones of his can keep you warm. He's not letting that happen.

What is his prob- Complaints die as his hands slip down your waist -you give a small twitch as he manages to tickle you - when they reach your hips. One hand spreads your legs a little more and the other, oh the cheeky bastard, the other is making small circles down your side towards the apex of your thighs.

He pauses and you're about to call him out for being a tease, when he quickly and gently makes contact with your clit.

_Goddamn._

When you manage to come back to yourself a bit, you're aware that you're quietly moaning and that there's no reason that he should be this good at this. Unless monster anatomy is incredibly similar to human anatomy... Sensing that you're distracted, Sans gives you a rougher bite on your neck and - _oh god, please_. You whine again -god this is embarrassingly one-sided- when Sans pushes a single digit into you.

"you think in five hundred years human porn hasn't fallen before?" Was he reading your mind? Wait a minute, he's seen human porn? Oh you're not going to let him live this down. You open your mouth to tease him when he does that neat little magic trick of his where he floods magic to a specific part of his body.

Fuck.

What were you going to say again?

He's gentle at first with a simple in and out - how you're this wet with water dripping onto you is a mystery that you start to try and figure out when he curls his finger. You keen and he adds another finger, making sure to press his palm against your clit with each stroke.

You throw your head back, twisting your neck into an awkward angle, and at least manage to kiss and nibble his jawbone.

He's breathing heavy now too. At least you're not the only one now. He pulls his hands up your body again (you embarrassingly whimper from the loss) and the next thing you know you're facing the wall that was to your right, so that there's still some water from the shower sputtering onto you. Was that magic or had he just spun you?

You untangle your arms from around his neck (spine?) and yet again you're stopped from turning. "nope," he repeats, voice huskier than it was before. His hands find yours and place them on the wall - you manage to see more of his humerus than you ever had before- before he pulls his left hand away.

"Why? Sans I want -"

There's something blunt, warm, and roughly dick shaped pressed against you now. _Please_. He chuckles - you must have actually begged. He helps you lean forward so that he's right there at your entrance. He rubs himself against you, teasingly, making sure to put no pressure on your entrance and some on your clit. You swear and he repeats the action.

"you sure?"

"Yes," you manage to get out as you strain your hips towards him.

When he presses into you, your brain short circuits again. He's bottomed out (oh god, so good - was that him groaning or you?) before you kind of remember yourself. He's thick and the magic that's sparking from him feels amazing. You hadn't even realized how empty you had felt until he was in you. And you thought you were a mess of a human from his kiss.

Each stroke of his cock is amazing. This shouldn't feel this good - the angle is awkward, you've had basically no foreplay, he's too far away - but fuck it's perfect. What starts as slow and gentle doesn't take long to turn frantic. You're both moaning, his hands going from your hips to entwine with yours.

You're close. He's babbling under his breath and shit, that's hot. He drops a hand again and it finds your clit. Now you think you're chanting his name.

His magic sparks in you again and the coil that's been winding since he kissed you earlier finally snaps. He groans and you feel his magic pulse again before you're aware of there being a warmth splashing into you. You ride out your aftershocks together and for that moment, you forget everything but him.

He pulls out, forehead resting against your shoulder as you pull yourself up right. You stretch, back popping back into place, and sigh in contentment. Awkward angle or not, that was worth the wait and the vague discomfort you feel now. Even in your blissed out state, your mind wanders for a second. Why wouldn't he let you touch him? Was he self-conscious about the differences between the two of you?

You can't bring yourself to ask as he nuzzles you. You wish the doubts would stay away, even just for five minutes. He pulls you both back into the stream of the shower, somehow still warm, before he pulls away.

"Sans, I -" you finally manage to find your voice and to turn around.

He's gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baby's First Smut.
> 
> Shower sex, while incredibly hot, can be incredibly uncomfortable. Awkward angles for all! 
> 
> Question time - this won't be the last smut by far in this story. Should I mark explicit content in the notes at the top, on the chapter title, or just let it ride (pun totally intended there)?


	19. Determination and Experimentation

Somehow, you knew he would leave. Knowing doesn't make it hurt any less. You peek out the shower curtain just in case and nope, he's really humped you and dumped you.

 _Son of a bitch_.

The heartbreak combined with the stress of the day finally catches up to you and you let yourself break down for a few minutes. You try to keep the noise down, but you hurt so bad. You can't keep it in anymore.

So you don't.

* * *

 

You're dressed again, face still red from crying when you plop down on the floor back in the room with the TV. He's not here. Gaster's files are though.

 _Deep breath ----_. Chara. Got to try and save the underground. Priorities. Murderer first, boy problems later. You flip it open and you can't see the words because, fuck, you're tearing up again.

"You look like shit," a raspy voice murmurs. Grillby has found you. He looks as immaculate as ever, so much that you can almost believe that he's his normal self. Like you know Sans, you know Grillby – the flames of his body scream to you that he's not fine.

"Thanks Grillbz. You sure know how to make a girl feel good about herself." How should you feel right now? Nothing makes sense. Grillby strolls over and leans on the wall next to you.

"It's just like last time," Grillby laments. "Except this time, it's one human and we're already trapped. Days like this...I wish I had it in me to still be angry." You can't think of anything to say to him. Maybe there's nothing to say. Rather than you comforting him, he places a warm hand on your shoulder and comforts you. "My wife always told me that loving a monster was hard work for a human."

"Grillbz you don't... you don't need to comfort me."

"I want to. It's better than thinking about what's going on anyway." His fingers tighten on your shoulder. "It felt like everything was against Joan and I. Humans didn't accept us as a couple when the tensions were high and any monsters that weren't bonded to humans just didn't get it. Despite the strife, loving her was worth it."

His flames flicker strongly. "Before she died, she said that every bit of suffering was worth it to be with me. That she'd do it again. Two months later her pregnancy was found out and... Well. Sans reminds me of me right after I lost her and my children. Since his dad died, he's been grieving. Unlike me, he didn't lose love. He found it." He pauses. "I was in a dark place for a very long time ----. I've come out the other side stronger for it. What I'm getting at is – I can tell he just fucked up. It's in your face. He's hurting still so... go easy on him, yeah?"

"Love's a little bit of a strong word Grillbz." Love wasn't fucking you and leaving you alone afterwards. You were two friends, one of whom had a huge crush on the other, that got lost in grief.

"I never said he was smart." Grillby sounds more like himself. You put a hand on top of his. "This should go without saying, but I never stood up for him, alright? I have a reputation to uphold." He winks at you from behind his glasses. Ah, normalcy. You really did love this guy.

He wraps his hand around yours just in time for Sans to walk in. Well, this isn't awkward at all. Grillby, clearly pretending that he hadn't just had an insightful and meaningful conversation with you, looks back and forth between the two of you pretending to be confused. The bartender would be a better star to the underground than Mettaton by far with these acting skills.

"I'll leave you two be." He gives your hand a squeeze. Just seeing Sans makes the waterworks start up again.

"sorry," you're wiping the tears from your face when he speaks. "i just... i couldn't..." His words make you feel dirty. More tears. You try to be angry, but you can't. You're just spent.

"i couldn't see you like that and risk you not remembering me." He sounds closer now. "god, i wanted to. i wanted that so much. but if you come back after this reset and you didn't remember something so important i.. i don't think i could take it."

Hope stirs in your chest and, rather than stomping it out, you welcome it. "You couldn't have said that before you just peaced out? Jesus Sans, I would have understood," you sniffle out. "Wouldn't have liked it, but at least I wouldn't feel so lousy. I thought..." _'I thought you regretted it. I thought you used me. I thought you...'_ The words won't come.

"sorry." He's sitting next to you now and you just lean on him automatically. You're too spent to fight with him. Funny how until today, your touches had been few and far between. Now? He's what's grounding you.

"For a guy that doesn't apologize much you sure say you're sorry a lot."

He nuzzles you again and you smile.

"chara's on the move again." Your smile dies as quickly as it appeared. "i need to go. i have a job to do. gotta try and keep you and everyone safe."

"Can I come with you?" You want to be with him.

"nah. i have a different job for you. go through gaster's notes. gaster would have met chara, maybe he picked up something about them."

* * *

 

Walking with Sans to the door gives you the sickest sense of déjà vu. Just like Undyne and Alphys, you realize. You walk outside with him for the illusion of privacy. Sans' kiss is sweet - a goodbye.

" 'm gonna spend next reset making this up to you," he murmurs against your lips. " 'specially if you remember."

"You better, bonehead."

"don't watch sweetheart," he whispers right before he vanishes from sight.

No, you're not promising that.

* * *

 

Alphys and you are absolutely horrible company, you think. Now that plans have been made (Alphys, bless her, had a plan A through Z thought out) and you're both alone in your grief, neither of you really speak. Alphys, up here with you, has finally opened her box of hurt up and is openly grieving. You've locked the doors to the lab as Chara heads this way and Grillby had come up to keep the two of you company in case they try and break in.

Grillby, however, is perfect company. He knows what the two of you are feeling. He's intimately familiar with that pain. You're just half-watching Chara make their way towards Hotland. Apparently the Riverperson had decided to not remain neutral in this since they didn't show up in Snowdin to help them. Or they were hopefully busy bringing stragglers here.

You're also pouring over Gaster's notes. He had been absolutely brilliant. The blueprints for the DT machine, mentions of his inspiration powering the underground, ideas on underground farming, training the Blasters to attack the barrier... Most of his notes were written in English and easy to read, but some were filled with strange symbols.

"Hey Alph – can you translate these?" You hold out a random page towards her. Alphys grabs it and glances over it. She frowns, which isn't exactly encouraging.

"H-how many pages?" You hold up a stack of them. "I c-can, but it w-would take a while. I didn't have access to these o-often and I'm r-rusty. Hmm..I'll s-skim, but it'll s-still take some t-time." She skims the first page for a few minutes, face scrunched in concentration. His other notes aren't boring, but there's very little that is actually useful in them. These were clearly the sensitive information. "Oh g-god," she breathes after a few minutes. "P-poor Sans and P-Papyrus. I h-had n-no i-idea. " Your suspicion about the strange language was confirmed – she must have just found out that the brothers were clones.

She picks up another page and starts again. If that first page was about the boys, then what else had he done? Grillby is flipping through the other ones when something dawns on you. Your throat clinches when it hits you.

"Grillby – you remember Sans' dad? You remember Gaster?" Alphys, who had been busy translating, looks shocked. Sans had said that almost no one remembered him. They knew there had been a previous royal scientist, he'd mentioned all those weeks ago, but he hadn't mentioned if anyone remembered that the scientist had been his father. Grillby's flames flicker in concentration for a second before, "Yes. I... I think I do."

If he remembers Gaster...

"Do you remember the human that the King and Queen took in?"

"Of course," he doesn't sound strained this time. "The two kids were something else. The human turned Asriel into quite the troublemaker. Why?"

"The human that's here now...it's apparently named Chara. And," you struggle, knowing full and well that you sound crazy. "I feel something from it. It's not exactly human. It seems like it's...."

"Possessed?" Grillby finishes your sentence. He looks from you to Alphys in apparent disbelief. "You're too young to know anything about..."

"What do you both know about monsters using human SOULs?" He asks after a full minute of shock.

"T-that it's possible after death?" Alphys sounds confused and honestly, you are too.

"Chara died of illness. It was quick – overnight. Before they fell down, they mentioned wanting to see the flowers from the surface one more time. When they died, Asriel took their SOUL right away from what I understand. When that happens, the dead can live on temporarily. Sometimes they can seize control. I know the humans attacked on the surface, but Asriel came back with Chara's body. Their SOUL went back into their corpse when Asriel turned to dust..." He takes a deep breath.

"It could be possible that enough of Asriel's magic lingered in their SOUL to sustain it past death."

"We have no way to test that Grillby." Alphys is in full science mode. "There's no mentions of that ever happening in all of our history!"

Grillby snorts. "Well I never talked about it before."

You beat Alphys to the punch. "Your wife?" Grillby nods towards you.

"In my youth, I had the stupid idea of saving her by fighting off all the humans surrounding her at the gallows. They saw me and instantly killed her. I was ready to murder all of them – I was going to. I absorbed her SOUL to keep her with me and... she made me walk away. All that power that I had with her SOUL combined with mine, and all I could do was grab her and my son's bodies and walk away. Her final act was to separate her SOUL from mine before I buried them – for a few seconds, despite having a broken neck, she squeezed my hand again."

Grillby's flames are unstable by the end of his story. He's buried his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking with quiet sobbing.

"I-I'm so s-sorry." Alphys sounds deflated. She probably feels terrible for bringing this up. Grillby doesn't say anything. You gently touch his back, stroking up and down it as you think.

"So it's possible... that that's Chara," you're thinking aloud now. Chara, according the screen, is almost to Hotland. "Grillbz, I hate to keep pushing you, but can remember anything more about Gaster?"

He takes a deep shaky sounding breath. "No. I only remember his name when you say it. Why is that?" He's trying to bring himself back to normal – it's strange to be able to tell that just based on his body.

"W-we think he was scattered in time and s-space when he had his accident," Alphys explains. "That would t-theoretically explain why so few people can remember him. I wonder why you can... Is it because you're older than most monsters and knew of him for so long? Or your friendship with Sans? Or because you've held a human SOUL?" She sounds like Papyrus does –did, you correct yourself mentally- when he encountered a complicated puzzle.

"I think we were friends at one point. Whenever you say his name and I remember it, it's followed by guilt." Grillby finally looks up. His face is streaked with lava-like tears. "Not just normal 'hey I forgot' guilt, but something _darker_." His emphasis on darker sends chills up your spine.

There's a moment when Alphys' eyes light up. You see it before her face shines with guilt. She's so expressive – how she keeps anything a secret is a mystery.

"Spill the idea, Alphys." You aren't going to let her talk herself out of at least sharing the idea that put that look in her eye.

"Uhhh...It has to do with the DT experiment. Technically, Grillby has had DT in his system before. I think we may be able to inject him with it and it trigger his memories. There could be something important there." Grillby looks intrigued.

"One problem Alph – amalgamates?"

"That's why it's so important that he has been exposed before. The only problem is that I'm out after Fl- err, my last experiments and it takes ages to make the synthetic stuff."

"I'll do it," Grillby says. At your dirty look, he grins. "I'm old. And," he holds up the DT Extractor's blueprints, "it's a good thing there's a human present, huh doctor?"

* * *

 

You knew you were going to wind up in this things jaws at some point. You'd called it the first time you saw it.

Fuck, you hate being right sometimes.

"T-try and summon some determination, ----." Alphys commands from the other side of the room. Easier said than done when you feel like you're about to be eaten alive. Grillby, despite also being hooked to the machine, chuckles at you.

"Relax. Think about how mad Sans' is going to be when he finds out I pulled your SOUL out before him," the cheeky bartender is back. He's obviously putting on a brave front (you'd seen him shudder looking at this machine) to make you feel better. You glare as you feel your SOUL pull free.

With Grillby doing it, it feels just as intimate as the sex with Sans had felt earlier. He eyes your SOUL for a second – man, you feel naked. The way he eyes your SOUL makes you feel so exposed.

"Ok, we n-need to begin!" Alphys calls out, shaking you both out of your thoughts. "We're skipping the injection and we're going to put some of your determination directly into Grillby's SOUL." Man, this sounds dirty. Are you technically having sex with two men today? Luck you. Grillby, to his credit, now looks incredibly embarrassed to have been caught eyeing your SOUL the way he was.

Your nerves are past fried. She doesn't warn you before she starts the machine up. It sounds like it's growling as it warms up. God, you hope you don't hurt him. You close your eyes and try to focus.

 _'Please don't hurt him. Please please please._ ' You try and summon the determination in your mind to not hurt him. There's a pinch on your SOUL – fuck, it feels like you're having blood drawn. Then it's over.

You fall backwards once the humming stops, legs failing. Your SOUL is sore. Looking up, Grillby's flames are flickering again. Orange to red to a cool blue. Alphys rushes to you, helping you up. You start to go to Grillby when her deceptively strong claws hold you back. "Don't!" The two of you just watch Grillby flicker – you're helpless.

It feels like it's been a lifetime before he stabilizes.

"Sixty-seven seconds," she whispers. "That's a great sign! The o-others took much longer."

Or not a lifetime.

Grillby looks the same, except for the small traces of blue flame that you can see in him.

"How could I forget all that?" Grillby sounds shocked. He leans over and retches, body heaving. Nothing comes out of course. "That bastard. We were friends and he... fucking sealed my memories away."

He locks eyes with you.

"Chara... He stole Chara's SOUL."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND WE'RE MOVING RIGHT ALONG NOW. Next chapter is up!!!
> 
> So Sans isn't a complete jerk. Poor guy just couldn't handle intimacy properly.


	20. Twisted Ethics

"H-HE WHAT?"

"HOW?"

You and Alphys are clearly on the same page. How exactly can you steal a SOUL? Aren't they kind of incorporeal technically? With their owner dead, how would that even be possible? Grillby had mentioned that it was apparently possible for a monster's magic to linger with a SOUL... Still. How can you steal a SOUL?

"I don't know how exactly. He was fascinated with that kid. We were friends for a while after my wife died. I was angry and bitter and so was he. He had just found his way here from wherever he was from and he was trapped again. He viewed the kid as a gift to science and the Queen shot down his idea to experiment on them. He was trying to just wait until they were of age to approach them. Then they died."

"As soon as Chara's body was alone, against the royal family's wishes, he stole their SOUL. I fell out with him over it. I don't know what he did with it."

"'My inspiration powers the underground'," you quote the notes. "It was written in English on the first page of his notes."

"T-the CORE?" Alphys doesn't sound convinced. "The CORE is newer. Even if he stole it, he'd have to store almost immediately with the body being dead."

All three of you are thinking when it hits you. "Oh my god." Your friends turn and stare. "Oh my god." You can't believe it. If you're right...

"Alphys. The generator. That red dot on it. What is it?"

"Uhhh... a p-power light? It l-lets us know that it's on."

"What if it's not?"

Understanding lights up in Alphys' eyes. "Oh my God. It can't..."

"Ladies?" Grillby pours his annoyance at your private conversation into that one word.

"F-follow me! We need to look at the generator." Alphys is running off before she even gets the word 'follow' out.

* * *

 

You were right. That red dot in the center wasn't a power light. Well, it kind of is. It's a SOUL. The SOUL of the first fallen child. Chara's SOUL. Chara's determination-filled SOUL.

"Holy fuck." No wonder there were countless resets. Was Chara looking for their SOUL by inhabiting Frisk? God. Could they just not rest because of how their SOUL was being used?

Grillby and Alphys look sick. "I forgot that he..."

"I-I I-interned... I t-thought he was b-brillant!"

They're both grieving, you realize suddenly. For a monster, this must be the ultimate idea of torture. If their entire being comes from their SOUL and here is a SOUL that's been held prisoner for a few hundred years. Not just that, but put here by a man that they'd known.

Now you feel sick again too. "Should we free it?" You ask them. Your voice seems to snap them out of it. Alphys looks like she's concentrating before disbelief takes over.

"W-what? I c-can't open the g-generator. Grillby?" Grillby's flames kick up for a full minute before they dim again. He shakes his head.

They try again when you see the reason why. The casing drips a small amount of black. It's as dark as the void that Sans shortcuts through.

Void magic.

"I need to go get Sans."

**********************************

Sans stands in the middle of the judgment hall, waiting. 'Chara.' For once he's almost at peace with this. It helps knowing that there's a chance that the kid that frees them is different from this demon that murders his loved ones. He probably could have stayed with you for a while longer, but he needed the time apart.

He needs to be in a different head space when whatever it's name is walks in. He can't be a lovestruck fool when fights a devil.

His phalanges twirl the end of Papyrus' scarf as he thinks. This was going to be a bad one, he can feel it in his bones. After three months of not being here, he reckons that the anomaly is probably pissed off. He knows he is.

Should he do his usual monologuing?

It takes them a few minutes longer than normal to reach him, but they do. Their eyes are as red as the blood he'll make them bleed. No, he decides finally. Special circumstances call for a script change.

"chara, chara, chara. boy do i have a _bone_ to pick with you."

The creature before him scowls, pulling their knife out of their pocket and stepping forward.

"what? don't like your name kid? i do. it's good to finally know the name of the _royal_ pain in my ass." He pauses. "ya know, i usually call you a dirty brother killer, but you're so much worse. how's it feel to kill your own mother repeatedly?" He lets his sockets darken and for the first time in ages, they flinch.

Is it sick that he's having fun? Revenge tastes good.

"actually, even worse than killing your own mother. tori took you in. you, a human, were taken in and protected by the queen of our people."

Another shaky step forward. "so chara, why do you keep coming back?" No answer. He shrugs as they step forward again.

"looks like the usual then." They close the distance finally. "it's a beautiful day outside. the birds are singing, the flowers are blooming... on days like this..." They lift their knife. "Kids like you..." They look determined. "Should be burning in hell." But he is too.

His left eye snaps yellow and cerulean as he pushes who he is into the corner of his mind.

* * *

 

Karma is a great thing in Sans' opinion. They, despite taking more breaks than usual, aren't as fast as usual. It seems three months of time off has made them forget that Sans doesn't show mercy.

Oh he loves it when they take a Blaster beam to the face.

They don't die, not that he ever expects them to stay dead anymore, they just keep trying to kill him. Dodging them is easy this time. He does his usual song and dance of bitching at them for fucking with time. It's different this time though. His SOUL is in it again. For so long he'd just played his part, but after tasting hope again... He wants Chara dead.

He doesn't even pretend to spare them this time. If this throws them off, they don't show it.

For a few minutes, he thinks he might kill them. Not that it matters, they'd just reset anyway, but it feels good to taunt them sometimes. What would happen if he decided to just fight them forever? No ultimate attack attempt, just keep pacing himself so he doesn't need to sleep to try and recover.

Just the two of them, fighting forever.

Sans gets cocky. They get too close and all Sans knows for a split second is pain. They've sliced him. For added measure, they puncture his sternum. That's what he gets for changing things up.

"hey chara," he growls out despite the pain. "fuck you."

They grin as they walk past him.

He collapses against a pillar, too tired to keep moving.

*************************************

Your legs are burning and your lungs are heaving. Papyrus may have just saved everyone by having you train with him. You're sprinting through the underground to get to Sans. At first, Alphys and Grillby had wanted to know what Sans could possibly do that they couldn't. When you pointed out the void magic, Alphys had been the one to piece it together. She now knew what Sans was so she'd rushed you upstairs. Seeing where Chara was, she'd unlocked the easy access to the king's castle. All you had to do was sprint a bit and ride some elevators.

Go figure, the elevator in the hotel had been down. You'd ran the long way, not even being able to stop and take in the impressive view. Before you know it, you're in what looks like a church.

Sans.

He's leaning against a pillar, what looks like blood rushing from wound across his ribs. You're on your knees in front of him, pressing on his injury before he even realizes you're there.

"----? why are you here? ...told you i didn't want you here."

"We figured it out Sans. We figured it out, but we need you to finish it. It's void magic Sans. The SOUL is protected by void magic. We can't break its container." You know you're making no sense.

"...where is it?" He sounds weak.

"The generator room. Sans, it's powering the underground. Chara's SOUL is powering everything."

"fucked up old man," is all he says, struggling to stand.

"Will you be able to make it there?" You help pull him to his feet.

"yes." He grins maniacally at you. "you could say i'm _dead determined_ to."

He sways slightly and you grab his elbow to help steady him. Once he's steady, he goes to grab your hand. You let him go and step away.

"what?"

"Go Sans." He doesn't move. "GO!"

"Sans," you try again, "you need to go and I need to bide you some time. Please Sans. There's no other way."

***********************************

He steps back, pain still radiating through him. You look determined and he knows you're right.

"be careful," is all he says as he lets the void swallow him whole. He concentrates on the true lab. Usually, he can't just appear in here. Gaster had made sure to block Sans' magic years ago - "just in case".

Sans had never really been determined to break in before though.

It takes a few extra moments, but he makes it. His slippers hit the ground in the lab, in the generator room.

"S-Sans!" Alphys and Grillby are standing before the massive generator that powers the lab and a portion of the core. On the face of the machine, the black tar of the void leaks down its front. It almost looks like oil, but even from across the room he feels its pull. The void.

He traces the magics' path up to Chara's SOUL. No wonder the kid couldn't just die. They were powering the underground itself. He can't bring himself to feel bad for them though. They chose genocide.

"Sans?" Grillby breaks his trance. "Sans, this needs to break. We have to destroy this SOUL."

Grillby looks different. Why is there blue in his flames? If he survives long enough after this, he'll ask.

"back up," Sans demands. The two listen.

Idly, Sans is glad that he didn't use his most powerful blasts on Chara. He needs them here. He feels himself tap into the void magic that he possesses. He feels the Blasters form around him. " 'kay, guys. time to fuck up the old man's lab. destroy that fucker's SOUL." He hears them gear up to attack.

He closes his eyes and mentally signals them to attack. When he opens them, he sees the black magic oozing off of the SOUL. Satisfied, he closes his eyes again, feeling himself turn to dust.

 

 

When he opens them again, he's looking at the ceiling in his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't leave it on last chapter's cliffhanger. I tried, god help me, I tried. Fact of the matter is I just couldn't leave it be anymore. Part one of this little tale of mine wraps up soon!
> 
> The idea isn't mine! I found the theory of Chara's SOUL when I randomly popped into the Undertale subreddit a while back. Sure as shit, zoom in on the machine, [in this image](http://orig04.deviantart.net/adb4/f/2015/314/1/a/undertale_complete_map__true_lab_by_higurashikarly-d9g9dt2.png) and it looks like a red heart is powering it ;) 
> 
> (My original inspiration [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Undertale/comments/3wahtc/spoilers_what_may_have_happened_to_charas_soul/). I nerd out from time to time, what can I say?)


	21. Into the Ocean (End it All)

For a second, when Sans blips into the void, you just want to sit down and rest. You're so tired. Had it only been a day or so since everything was right in the world? Was there even a point to this?

Yes. You'd discovered that Frisk was being possessed. You'd found Chara's SOUL.

It was worth it. It is worth it. You feel a burst of warmth in your SOUL – you're determined. You have to keep going. So, one foot in front of the other, you make your way to forward. More running.

You reach the throne room just in time to see Chara go to stab Flowey. The throne room, like the judgment hall, is so colorful that it almost distracts you. The large pile of dust scattered all over the yellow flowers keep you grounded. So much death...

"CHARA NO!"

Flowey looks absolutely shocked to see you defend him. From what you can see, he'd been crying. Despite everything, you feel a twinge of pity towards him.

Chara stops mid swing, glaring at you. They turn to face you, face set in hatred when they swing. You expect the knife to fly at you. No. Instead of throwing it at you, they spin hit Flowey, catching him off guard. The first hit stuns him.

**Thwack.**

**Thwack.**

**Thwack.**

 

His face is gone now. He's just a normal flower. Even more death. Chara grins for a second, eyes glowing red. They snap their fingers and fall to their knees, collapsing onto themselves. The heat on your chest returns.

Behind (or is it above? You can't tell) Flowey's lifeless corpse, the void opens. Chara starts to tremble. A sob rips from their throat.

What?

In the void, a figure appears. They're a child as well. They're wearing brown pants with a green and yellow stripped sweater. Their hair is a messy brown, skin pale like death, a smile that doesn't meet their eyes, and... Their eyes... Irises red as blood.

You instantly just know again - _Chara_. That must mean that they were possessing Frisk and that – god, the poor kid. Frisk must have either been trapped in their own mind the whole time or that everything they'd been forced to do just hit them all at once. You're frozen in place, taking this all in.

Chara looks at the weeping form before them in disgust for a full minute before they notice you.

"Oh? You're alive? How?" Their voice is like angry static in your temple. Red eyes examine you again. "It feels so good to be free again. Whaddya say Frisk? Ready to let me win once and for all? Her being here changes nothing. Give me your SOUL Frisk. We'll do great things together."

"How do you know that?" This is a kid. A hell-spawn, sure, but still a child. What could they possibly do without Frisk's body?

Their eyes finally find what they're looking for apparently. "So THAT'S how you're alive. Borrowed void magic." They scoff, voice turning mocking, "oh the Delta Rune! It tells of a person that will save us all!"

Their entire form flickers, body melting black tar for a second, before flickering back. "'You're everyone's hopes and dreams!'" Their eyes roll. "God, is that why that insufferable goat gave you that necklace? Does she still believe in that fairy-tale?" Your hands find the small charm that you hadn't taken off since she gave it to you. It's warm to the touch.

This...this is what's been saving your life. It's been protecting you, keeping you safe. How? Later, no time to think about that now.

"Didn't she take you in?" You ask, trying to get closer to Frisk. You need to get them to reset. They're still sobbing into their hands. Poor kid...

"Yes. I was quite the little show human. 'Look how good we are. We'll take this damaged thing in, no matter that it's a member of species that trapped us, and treat it like its one of us. Humanity isn't that bad.' Even after everything that happened to them, they didn't get it - humanity is evil." Their image flickers again. "He understood though, I think. They wouldn't let me help him, but he understood. If they'd listened, I wouldn't have had to die."

Chara's still dangerous. They wouldn't be talking to you as calmly as they were if they were harmless. You need to keep them distracted. You finally get to Frisk, gently placing a hand on their quivering shoulder.

"You didn't have to die. I saw the tapes. You didn't have to poison yourself. You could have grown up as royalty and used your influence." You don't agree with the notion, but they have to keep talking. Your hand slips to Frisks back. You need to calm them down.

Chara rolls their eyes. "Enough of this."

The void expands, swallowing you both. There's the feeling of not being able to breathe again, that the void is liquid in your lungs, before you adjust. Frisk shudders.

"You're weak, human. I saw your into your SOUL in Snowdin. We had something similar happen to us on the surface actually. You would rather hide away and pretend to forgive. To try and 'move on'." Chara sneers at you and the implications hit you like a ton of bricks. "I became strong from it. I wanted to use my hate for revenge. I would have if that idiot hadn't held me back!"

Chara flickers again, but this time doesn't flicker back. It's ironic – the spirit of the dead human is the most monstrous thing you've ever seen. Their eyes and mouth are black and remind you of melting plastic. "Enough of this! Your SOUL Frisk. Give it to me. We'll destroy this world together from the inside out! It'll be so much fun!" The static in their voice is stronger, deeper. "Besides, you've been so quiet this time around. I know you're ready to give in. That you're tired of fighting me."

"Frisk," you murmur. "Frisk, sweetie, you don't have to. Just reset. We found Chara's SOUL. We think we can stop them."

They finally look at you, their tan face streaked with tears and snot. They look like a normal kid, not a being that can manipulate time itself. Their eyes are a deep brown, you notice.

"OH! You found MY SOUL?" Their static voice is back to its previous pitch again. "TELL ME WHERE IT IS."

You refuse to even look at them. Only at Frisk.

"Sans knows where it is honey." You run your fingers through their hair. "Sans knows, which means he can make sure that you aren't possessed again."

Frisk just gives a watery sniffle. They look so tired, ready to just give up.

You feel the void magic swirl for a second. When you look up at Chara, they're only about five feet away from you, their knife in their hand. You can see the dust on it from here. The void directly behind them looks even darker than dark. They playful run the blade over their finger.

"That's a great joke! You should join that comedian in death, actually," they grin at you, a sight that sends chills down your spine and terror into your heart. "But first... my SOUL. I've been looking for it for a long time. I'd like it back."

You don't answer again. There's nothing to say to them.

"Oh? You won't talk to me?" Their grin splits on their cheeks, more black showing through. "Such a shame. Looks like time is up, Frisk!"

They charge Frisk with their knife. Like Sans, they teleport across the distance. The warmth in your chest, whatever magic it's made of, whispers in your SOUL.

 _Everything is going to be fine_.

When Chara re-materializes, their knife doesn't hit Frisk. You've pulled them behind you - the same way you did on the surface. Instead of falling down a hole this time, you have a knife lodged in your rib cage. High up on you, slightly to your left.

It pierced your heart.

You're dying.

Your SOUL had tried to stop it, since it's there in front of you, but it hadn't been strong enough to either. The heart-shape is broken in half down the center. It's mostly red - hopefully that's a good sign.

Another second passes before the pain hits. You don't cry out like you did with Undyne. You won't give Chara the satisfaction.

"Frisk...reset... Don't give up your SOUL..." Your vision is starting to go. Chara's grin breaks their face. They look like the demon they are. The shadow from behind them seems to close in on you.

You're down. Everything's black. Cold.

So.

Cold.

 

 

So.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cold.

 

 

 

 

Choking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Void or blood?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both maybe?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Something warm grabs your hand.

 

 

Not alone. Good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fading.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You hear the sound of wind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fading.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The game has changed it seems. Very interesting."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fading.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nothing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

The sound of wind rushing is all you know. There's no time here, only wind. You've been here alone for... How long? Forever? Does it matter?

 

Is there a 'you'?

 

"So the necklace I was found wearing possesses some void magic. Interesting."

You aren't alone. It's the deeper static voice. You've heard it before, its sound laced with someone else's...

It makes a sound of irritation over the wind.

Suddenly, you're aware of yourself again. You're alive - you think - and you're in the void. There's no light anywhere. You're naked, except for that charm that lays on your collar. You're so cold and...

You aren't alone.

"Hello, my dear. I must say you've done quite the good job of shaking things up here recently." The nothingness speaks to you. "It's been so long since any variables in this experiment have changed. I was starting to get bored. I was even thinking about telling that miserable creature where it's SOUL was just see what would happen." It laughs.

You lick your lips, nervous. This...is this real? Are you dead?

"Yes to both, I'm afraid. At least for now. You're in the time between resets. After you took a knife for the child, they were filled with the determination to save you. A child that can manipulate time itself in your dimension... What an ally to have. Or a debt to have owed? So many new variables!"

Frisk... Frisk reset. Oh thank god.

"Don't thank anyone just yet, darling. The underground has more than one threat facing it."

The rest of what it (he? If static could sound masculine, this would be masculine static) said catches up to you. Whatever is in here with you is thrilled about whatever just happened.

"You know... Being naked alone in the dark is kind of rude. Show yourself." You finally find your voice. You might not have said the brightest thing, but....The darkness just laughs.

"Very well, it's not like you'll remember this." The shadow is suddenly corporeal, solid. Like the lifting of a veil, a thin skeletal face comes into view. It reminds you of both Papyrus and Sans all at once.

"You... You're Gaster, aren't you?"

"Why yes, yes I am. Or I was. Time here doesn't follow the normal rules you see." Gaster seems to shrug before he regains focus. His sockets narrow at your SOUL. "Interesting. I see why my son took a shine to you the way he did. Figures that he wouldn't notice an anomaly even if he was fucking it. I wish you would have fallen before that sixth child went and got themselves killed...Before that temperamental brat shoved me into the abyss." The end is dark promise. You can't shake the feeling that you'll be seeing him again. "Oh you will. One way or the other."

"Will I remember...?"

"This? No. Well, maybe one day, but I can't have Sans knowing about me too soon. It'd spoil the fun," he grins. "But will you remember your time in the previous timeline? Who knows? It's part of the fun - you're the most interesting new variable. One that set the others into motion."

"Will you remember everyone? Will you forget and break my sons' hearts? Or... Will Chara possess you next?" He cackles, static pounding in your ears.

You feel sick, fear coursing through you. Could they?

"Goodbye my dear," he's fading, not answering your question. "see y o u a r o u \-----"

The wind rushes around you, lulling you to sleep.

* * *

 

When you come back to yourself, your head is pounding. The taste of copper is in your mouth. The light behind your eyelids hurts.

God, how much did you drink last night?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN DUN DUN *dramatic chipmunk turn and face*
> 
> So you've now died and met daddy dearest. Also, it's the end of part one! Part two begin either tomorrow or Monday, depending on how much Spawn lets me write today/tomorrow.
> 
> Come check out my tumblr [here](http://meg-rae29.tumblr.com) for a timeline and to talk with me :)


	22. Welcome (Back) to Wonderland

Everything hurts. Everything feels heavy. Your brain is throbbing in your skull. What the fuck happened? You're clearly alive since you can feel pain, but you can't muster up the strength to open your eyes yet.

Alright -----, what's the last thing you remember? The sound of wind. Well, that's exactly zero percent helpful. Before that? It was New Year's eve, lots of drinking, catching up with old friends, dodging questions about why you'd dropped off the face of the earth, something about hiking...

Okay, there's a start.

Your alarm going off, hiking up to the meeting spot by yourself... A child being there. That's progress.

Oh. Pulling the kid away, ground giving out beneath your heel, falling into the undeground. Monsters. Magic. SOULs. Your memories flash behind your eyelids. A child – Frisk, your mind supplies- possessed by a long dead child, a demon that called itself Chara. Multiple timelines. You'd been here for three months.

No wonder your head hurts.

The smell of flowers is the next thing you register. Well, at least you remember everything. You've clearly reset with this place. Man, what's this going to be like? Going through the motions, repeating the same actions again and again. At least Sans will remember too.

Sans. Once you leave the ruins, you're going to shove your foot so far up his bony little ass (pelvis? Kick him in the coccyx? Now that thought makes you giggle). It's easy to be forgiving when you think you're going to die or that you won't remember, but you do, which means that you and a certain skeleton are going to need to have a little talk when you leave the ruins.

There's someone under your arm. Your eyes snap open when you realize that you aren't alone. You're wrapped around Frisk, their back against your belly, brown messy hair giving away their identity. They must have woken up at the same time as you, since when they twist and meet your eyes, they all but throw themselves away from you.

What the hell? Their eyes are wide in fear and they're shaking.

"F-frisk? What's wrong?" Your voice is shaky. Their eyes are still wide, but the shaking stops. There's a moment when nothing happens and they look frustrated. They sign something to you and you groan. You can't sign, you never learned anything besides "bullshit", "thank you", and "fuck you". Only one of the three would be useful with Frisk. "I don't know sign language, I'm sorry."

They look sad and, giving you a concerned look, touch over their heart and point to you. Huh? You pull your shirt and the necklace (how did you still have this necklace?) out of the way – where had that scar...come...from. Chara. Knife. Protecting Frisk. A blade through your SOUL and into your chest. Nothingness. Static. No wonder you hurt – you had _died_.

You sit up slowly – Jesus fucking hell you're sore - and make a 'come here' motion with your finger at the kid in front of you. Frisk, eyeing you nervously, crawls over. They look so scared when you gently tilt their face up towards you. Chocolate eyes gaze back into yours.

You pull your hand away and smile at Frisk. "I know you're Frisk. Your eyes are brown. Chara's are red." Frisk, instead of thinking you're dumb, just beams and throws their arms around your neck. You giggle and hug back, ignoring the small flash of white-hot pain from the sudden contact.

When they pull back, you're surprised to see tears streaming down their face. They wipe them away as they pick up a stick from the next to the flowers. In small chicken scratch they write on the dirt. 'I can't hear Chara anymore. THANK YOU'. They wipe it away after you read it. 'What now?'

"Now, I think there's someone that we both want to see here. So here's the story kid, because Tori doesn't trust me at first. I went to pull you away from the hole and the ground gave out beneath us. Sound good?"

Frisk nods, although they look a little confused.

"She likes kids like you. Grown-ups like me remind her of the people that put her in here." You almost laugh at calling yourself a grown-up while you stand up. You're back in a land (because time reset) where monsters and magic are real and the funny part is that you're calling yourself a grown-up. Maybe you fell again and DID hit your head this time. "Alright Frisk, let's get moving."

You'd forgotten about Flowey being here. The last time you'd seen him, he'd been dead. The happy smiling face that you'd first seen is slapped back on his face. If he's surprised to see you again at all, let alone you and Frisk together, he doesn't show it.

"Howdy! I'm Flowey! I'm Flowey the Flower. You two must be sooooo lost here in the underground. Let me show you -" You can't stand to hear any of this again. He knew about Chara, which means he knows something about what's going on here.

"Cram it, weed," you growl out. The smile instantly falls into a glare.

"I was trying to be polite. Not that a human would understand that."

"Polite would be not treating us like idiots." You pause for a second, remembering the odd pity you'd felt for him. "I'm sorry that I couldn't stop them."

The flower looks shocked for a split second before the glare returns. "Stop digging, bitch." Your eyebrows shoot up at that. It says a lot about your time here that it's not the talking flower that's throwing you off, it's that he called you a bitch. "You're out of your depth. You don't know anything about what's going on."

"Frisk will just keep resetting," he grins at you as he pulls both your SOUL and Frisk's free. The colors of your SOUL twirl in sharp contrast to Frisk's ruby red one. Unlike Chara's, it's brightness just seems pure. "Because they're determined." Flowey summons more bullets to surround you again. This is getting real old. You step in front of Frisk again and Flowey just laughs. "They don't need you."

"I know they don't." You do know that – they've been going through the underground for ages on their own. "I just don't have to make it easy for you. " The bullets close in around you – just you this time – as Flowey laughs.

"I wonder if you'll be here or remember if Frisk resets again? Let's find out!"

You just glare as he laughs – then when he's tossed like a ragdoll with a fireball, it's your turn to laugh. You do, however, have the good common sense to stop laughing before Toriel sees you.

You keep Frisk behind you as Tori (Toriel, you tell yourself, Toriel until she tells you otherwise) approaches. She's eyeing you warily, which no lie, hurts even though you get it. You aren't friends, you're a strange adult human. When she sees Frisk behind you, she stops in her tracks.

"Are you two... Are you two alright?" Her eyes dart from Frisk back to you and back to Frisk again.

"A little banged up from the fall, but the flower didn't get us." This is so strange – so different from your last time meeting her. How did Frisk and Sans do this, time and time again?

"Step forward, human. I won't harm your child." Ah, here's the part where she examines your SOUL closer. Wait, your child?

"Frisk isn't mine. We, uh, we just met. I'm ----, by the way." Awkward. You guess you're old enough to have a kid.

Her eyes are scanning your chest again. Another downside to this is that now you're very aware of how invasive this actually is. Play it cool, like you know nothing. Once she gets what she's looking for, she glances over at Frisk. "Oh, my apologies! I'm Toriel and I'm the caretaker of these ruins. Please, come with me to my home and I'll answer any questions you have."

Well, at least you aren't being threatened this time. Is that a good thing?

* * *

 

Yet again, you were rushed through the ruins. This time you believe her when she says that it's to heal your injuries. Halfway through the ruins, she just picks you up and carries you. Frisk bounds after the two of you. At first you were confused, but it became clear very quickly that Frisk was talking to Tori.

"So you both fell even though she tried to save you?" Tori sounds shocked. "My goodness. Why were you so close Frisk?" From what you can tell, Frisk just blushes. "Curiosity? Well my child, you need to curb your curiosity down here." You've reached her house and, mmmm, still smells like pie.

You're very gently placed in one of the dining room chairs again, when Tori disappears to show Frisk their room and to grab you some food. Goat mom had been a good nickname for her. You hope that you two can be friends again soon so you can tease her about it again.

Frisk appears out of nowhere with a notepad and a crayon, tossing them between the two of you. 'Plan?' was already scribbled on it. You just shrug your shoulders.

"Don't got one kiddo," you admit, "I'm just winging it." Frisk gives you a dirty look and you just shrug again. "Worked pretty well for me last time." Frisk looks ready to write something else when Tori comes in with one cup of tea (shit, gross) and three pieces of pie. You don't miss the happy smile that lights up Frisk's face.

"I must warn you that this tea is bitter, but it will heal up your injuries for the most part."

"So I should chug it?" You ask and Tori nods. Bottoms up, you guess. You chug it, trying not to get any on your tongue. No such luck. Both of them laugh at your grimace.

"Now to business," Toriel says after a minute, grim determination set on her face.

* * *

 

 

For the second time, you hear the history of the underground. It's more kid friendly this time around, but it's still tragic. Asgore... had Asgore been the pile of dust on the throne room floor before? You hadn't met him there. The thought of a child managing to kill the King still sounds crazy, even knowing what you did about monsters. Killing Tori seems like a feat on its own, but you know for a fact that they could do that.

You shake your head. Now isn't the time for this train of thought. Not in front of Frisk. Hell, not in front of Tori.

The rest of the afternoon is spent resting, helping Tori (already insisting on being called Tori, thank god) cook dinner, and relaxing. After the last three days or so (or whatever, thinking that technically three months ago is in the future is starting to make your head hurt), the break is nice. Frisk seems to think so too, sitting in your lap while you both listen to Tori read over snail facts.

You're leaning against her armchair on the floor, eyes closed, Frisk in your lap, and listening to Tori talk while you think. Part of you wants to run out of the basement ASAP. You want to see Sans again and need to see Papyrus alive. Hear that Undyne is alive. Find out why you remember everything too. Finger find the necklace that's still on you from last time, hidden under your shirt. Why was it still here? Chara had mentioned it being voi- you jump out of your revere. Frisk had fallen backwards, asleep on you.

Tori giggles softly. "Bed time?"

"Apparently." Tori gets up and pulls Frisk into her arms. "I'll take them to bed. Unfortunately, there's only one twin bed."

"If you have a blanket and some pillows, I'll just sleep in here." You aren't about to sleep in a twin bed with a kid, let alone a kid that you barely know. Nope, nope, nope. You've seen the news. Uh-uh, not going down that road.

"That's fine. I guess I finally need to work on that third room again..." You don't even hint at the fact that that won't be necessary.

* * *

 

It's an hour or so later when you're awoken to Frisk screaming. You jump awake, convinced that something is killing them, and run to them. Tori is trying to comfort them, but it's just not working. They see you in the doorway and they run to you, wrapping their arms around your belly. After a second of not knowing what to do, you just smooth their hair on their head and mumble reassurances.

Tori and you share a look - _'What happened?'_ , but there's a mutual agreement in the air that you'll talk in the morning. After a few minutes, you put Frisk back to bed and just sit with them until they fall asleep.

After their third nightmare of the night, you move to the rug in their room, and fall asleep holding their hand.

* * *

 

 ** _'Plan?'_** You chuckle under your breath when Frisk hands you the note after their fourth nightmare.

"Is everything okay or do you just have ants your pants kid?"

They stick out their tongue at you as they write. 'Want to see everyone again. Don't you?'

Yes, yes you do. You miss everyone. You want to see that everyone is alive with your own eyes. No, you need too. But... "Frisk, I know you're usually in and out of here. I know you love Tori, I see it in your eyes. Tori needs this. She needs a little more time." Frisk looks at you, listening yet skeptical. "I was here a week last time before I was chased out by the Royal Guard. I don't know what I did, but I think I did something. A month ago Sans took me to talk to her again. She was starting to think about leaving here I think."

'Ok. A week.'

"Want to talk about those nightmares?" They just roll over and face the wall. "When you want to talk, I'll be here to listen. No judgments. Promise."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! You remember! 
> 
> I tumble, I mean [tumblr](http://meg-rae29.tumblr.com/) sometimes. Well, I tumble a lot too...


	23. Stuck in a Loop

Morning, or you think it's morning, comes quickly. Frisk isn't the only one plagued by nightmares. You feel like utter garbage, you're sore again, and you could quite possibly kill for some coffee. Well, you quickly amend, it'd have to be Flowey or Chara... Either way, you feel like garbage. You slip out of the room of the still sleeping Frisk since you know that there is zero way that you're going back to sleep.

Tori's waiting for you at the table. She smiles when she sees you, also clearly tired. "Tea my dear?" At your face, she giggles again. "Not the tea you had yesterday."

"Please." Tori's up and in the kitchen before you can get the whole word out. Less than a minute later she's back with a cup of hot water, tea steeping.

"How do you feel?"

You grimace and go with honesty. "Like garbage. I'm so freaking tired and I'm still a bit sore."

"Where are you sore?" The question sounds loaded.

"My back and my shoulder mostly," you frown for a second as you think. "My chest a bit too."

"Ah. I thought so."

"Hmm?" The woman in front of you doesn't answer, she just bites her lip.

"It's nothing. Once Frisk is up, we'll go through the ruins together. How's that sound?"

You don't appreciate her deflecting, but you don't say anything.

* * *

 

After your tour of the ruins, you and Frisk take off to 'explore'. There's a little bit of truth to it, but Frisk has their pen and paper with them. This is clearly a mission planning outing. You're on your way to go lay in your favorite pile of leaves when you run through Napstablook. You're so happy to see him, but you also feel guilty. You'd never gone to see him in Waterfall.

Man, you're an asshole sometimes. This time, you think, no excuses.

"Oh? Am I in your way? I'm sorry!" His voice snaps you out of your thoughts. Right, you need to be friends and out of the ruins before you can do that. Be in the moment.

"No, you're fine!" You say. There's an awkward pause for a second.

"You two can't talk to each other?" He sounds confused and there's another strange pause. How is Frisk talking to everyone besides you? Is it a magic thing? "I can try to help. That is...if you want me to..."

"Please, that would be awesome." Frisk apparently says something similar since the ghost breaks out into a smile for a fraction of a second.

"Ok...here goes nothing... I hope I don't mess this up."

You feel that tugging feeling on your SOUL again. You relax into it, only to hear Blooky gasp. He's staring at your SOUL. Your SOUL which has a crack in it. "Wha-what?"

" _Are you ok ----_ ," a soft voice in your head says.

Holy shit.

 

What.

The.

Fuck.

 

A voice in your head.

 

What the fuck?

Frisk is looking over at you, worry written on their sunkissed features. Was that Frisk?

 

"Call me crazy, but is that you?" You ask Frisk. You've handled a lot of things down here with what you'd like to think was grace and poise. Between dying, the new crack in your SOUL, and hearing a voice in your head – you're done.

" _Yep, it's me_ ," they’re grinning now.

"Oh my god." Flabbergasted. That's a good word for what you are. "Holy cow, thank you!" Whatever Napstablook had done, it worked.

* * *

 

You and Frisk find out with Tori's help that Frisk's voice in your head is almost like telepathy. Frisk can control who hears what. You have to talk out loud, but hypothetically you could have a private conversation with a notepad and never have to say a single word out loud.

So cool.

As for your SOUL, you figure out why it's cracked during one of your nightmares. You don't wake up screaming, but you wake up crying and disorientated. You dream of nothingness, static, and wind; it's not much, but it fills you with dread. The shatter is where Chara stabbed you.

* * *

 

"Why do you keep coming back?" It's day five in the ruins when you finally ask.

Their voice in your head heaves a sigh, like they knew this was coming. They probably did, come to think of it. Frisk is a bright kid. Their voice is quiet and forlorn when they answer. " _I didn't remember every reset all the time. Sometimes I'd feel like I'd done something before or I'd think that I had just had a dream like this before. I think Chara did something with my mind. I don't even know if I remember everything._ "

They give a small sniffle. " _When they'd take over, I'd think I was having a bad dream until the end... Or when things would be good, I'd hear them tell me that I hadn't saved everyone. So I'd reset. I want to save everyone. I want everyone to be happy._ "

You throw an arm around Frisk. "We'll figure it out, kid."

* * *

 

The rest of the week is similar to your first week. At first, Frisk wanted to get a move on right away. On one hand, you did too. On the other... you needed this. You needed this time with Tori. Frisk didn't resist much. For the first three days they seemed antsy, but on day four they relaxed considerably. When you asked why, they told you that sometimes, Chara would lay low and not take over until the end of night three.

It's the end of night four this time when Tori brings up the backpack padded with some clothes for you and Frisk. Frisk had gone to bed already and the two of you were just sitting and reading in the light from the fireplace when she tells you where she put it.

"I heard rumors at the market today," she says at the look on your face. "Rumors that there is a human in the ruins. I want you both to be able to go if there's an emergency." She heaves a heavy sigh, one that you think may come from her SOUL itself. "If it comes down to it, I have a friend in the town directly outside of the ruins. He's promised to make sure that no harm comes to any human." Sans. Your heart aches just thinking about him.

"I'm sure he's good for it. I don't know his name, but he has a good SOUL. A sad one, but it's still good. Anyway, the closer you two are to here, the safer you are."

"If that happens," you have to ask. You know you aren't going to like the answer. "Come with us?"

"No, I can't. I came here for a reason and I'll stay for that reason." Her eyes are so sad. "I...I feel as though I know you somehow. Can you keep a secret?"

You nod your head, intrigued.

"I came here from... from a position of power -" She stops herself mid-sentence. "No, why lie? I was the queen. I am still, I guess, since I couldn't manage to break my bond to Asgore. We lost our son and our adopted human child all in one day. Humans killed them. Asgore wanted blood after that and demanded war. I... tried to get him to reconsider. He wouldn't. In the middle of the night, I took Chara's body from New Home to here and tried to break our bond."

You don't say anything at first. You don't trust yourself too. Chara was – Chara, when alive, was Tori's child. Instead, you just stand up and hug the goat monster. She leans into you lightly. "I'm sorry Tori. If you want to talk about it, I'm here." There. That you can mean. That you do mean.

She looks at you, considering you for a second. "It's funny...When I first saw you a few days ago, I was ready to kill you. The last adult humans I saw were killing and trapping my people. Then I saw that you were defending Frisk. When I looked at your SOULs I just got the feeling that I knew you both already. So here I am, trusting near strangers. How strange it is..."

She smiles at you sadly. "It's foolish of me to feel the way I do about Asgore. He's the ruler; he had to do what he thought the people wanted. I know that he didn't mean it when he called for bloodshed, but he hasn't backed down on it. He's followed through with it. Because of him, my other six children that I've taken in are dead. I know they left of their own accord.... I tried so hard to save them!" Tori breaks down as you stroke the fur on her arms. "So I've lost eight children..."

"I need to be here to care for Chara's grave. I need to try and save the humans that fall," she sobs out.

When she calms down, she makes you promise to keep her secret safe. Asgore knows where she is and the older monsters would recognize her on sight, but to the young ones she is Tori of the Ruins. That's all she wants to be. You promise, but tell her that Tori of the Underground would work too.

* * *

 

At one week in the ruins, you and Frisk had befriended Napstablook, drawn some bake sale flyers (having the ability to talk with your SOUL now made life SO much easier), baked more butterscotch pies than you could ever eat, and told countless bad puns and jokes (Frisk had clearly spent way too much time with Sans). You were on edge all day, ready to take off at a moment's notice. But nobody came for you.

Three days later, they did. After three days of sleeping on the floor, you'd finally given in and just snuggled up with Frisk in the bed. It took some getting use to since you were a total starfish at night, but it was better than the floor. Being in bed together was best for you and Frisk nightmare wise too – you could wake up, see that everything was fine (at least for now, your mind says), and go back to sleep. This also meant that you could fall out of the bed.

Which is exactly what you did when Tori burst into the room in the morning.

"Ugh!" At the sound of the door banging open, you spring awake, and disoriented, fall onto the floor. "Wake up and dress warmly! You two need to go!" Tori sounds absolutely frantic. Frisk looks absolutely terrified.

" _What's going on?_ " You wince, they are LOUD.

"The canine unit of the Royal Guard is on the way to the ruins now." Tori answers from the hall as you get the bag down from on top the dresser. Frisk throws on their sweater, shorts with leggings under them, and boots. You thrown on jeans, a tank top, hoodie, and some sneakers. Backpack flung over your shoulder, you push Frisk out the door towards Tori.

You're nervous, heart in your throat, as you follow behind Tori and Frisk into the basement.

"----, do you remember what I told you a few nights ago?"

"Yes."

"I can try to reopen the ruins door after a few days, depending on when the guard gives up on their being a human here. I don't think anyone here would give you up, but if they do... It could be a while. "

"Got it."

" _Can you come with us?_ " Frisk sounds so hopeful in your head.

"I cannot my child," Tori sighs at the end of the hall. "I'm sorry."

"Go you two, hurry!"

"Be careful Tori." You hug the maternal monster that’s dropped to her knees. In to her fur you whisper, "Remember, it's never too late to change your mind."

" _Be careful mom._ "

" _\----, when we get to the other side, don't stop walking okay? Alphys has a camera in the rock and you should act like you've never been here._ " This one is private, just for you, as you step through the door.

You'd forgotten about Flowey. Son of a -

"YOU," He's snarling again. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO CHARA?" You pull Frisk behind you again, separating them from the pissed off weed.

"What do you mean?" You ask loudly, choosing to play dumb. Quietly, so that only Frisk can hear you, you tell them to run next to the right wall at your signal.

"I CAN'T FEEL THEM. I'VE ALWAYS BEEN ABLE TO FEEL THEM." He's furious, but also sounds oddly distraught. This flower needs a shrink. "SO I'LL RESET THIS WORLD AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN BY KILLING YOU UNTIL THEY COME BACK."

Time to go.

**Three.**

"Oi, fuckface! They KILLED YOU." Probably should watch your mouth in front of the kid in the future.

**Two.**

He flinches. "YOU WERE DEAD. THEY PRETENDED TO STRIKE ME TO CATCH YOU OFF GUARD! WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT YOUR FRIEND?" You're yelling at Flowey, who's rapidly summoning bullets and vines.

**One.**

**"GO!"**

There's a flash of pink and blue from behind you, heading to the right while you go left. Your plan to work him up was reckless, but it worked. Flowey was focused on you, so Frisk was safe. You let Frisk stay a few paces ahead of you. Each bullet misses, as you swerve while you run (Thanks Undyne!), until the door.

Protecting Frisk, you feel bullets enter your back.

Again.

Once on the other side with door closed behind you, you lean against the door to the ruins. Injured by the flower again. While you memory of the first time is a bit fuzzy as far as pain level goes, this one feels worse.

" _\----, you're bleeding!_ " Frisk is panicking in your head. " _Can you walk? Do I need to walk ahead? What can I do?_ "

"'m fine kid," you lie. It hurts like a motherfucker. Your back is burning and you already feel the blood trickling. "Let's just keep moving."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next chapter: Sangst. 
> 
> Poor Tori and her ruins get no love from me. Sorry goat mom. Maybe one day I'll stop hurting Reader.


	24. The Longest Ten Days of a Skeleton's Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERE COMES SOME SANGST. 
> 
> Shoutout to Greyscales for creating the best word.

**Day 1**

 

For the first time in... how many resets? A lot. A lot of resets. For the first time in a lot of resets, Sans is thankful when he wakes up in his bed after crumbling to dust. He knows immediately that the last reset wasn't a dream (sometimes, he dreams about timelines, which is the worst kind of torture he experiences) when he feels drained. Not his normal lazy drained; a 'I-just-summoned-several-Gaster-Blasters-after-fighting-the-kid' drained.

"WAKE UP BROTHER! WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE!"

Even though he knows that time reset, he's always thankful to hear his brother yell. "'m up paps." Everything hurts this time – his entire body feels like, well, like it had disintegrated into dust and been pushed back together. He wonders how you will feel.

You.

All of his memories from the last timeline finally hit him and the warmth that he had felt in his SOUL fades. Three months. He'd had three months of new experiences. Three months of remembering what life was supposed to be like. Now... what now? Would you be back? Would you remember? Was this the new version of a reset? That would be crueler than the one he's in now in a way - giving him a friend (or more, blushing at the memory of taking you in the shower) that he could share new things with at then after three months, he'd have to start over. With no real future. Or were you a once in lifetime thing? An extra anomaly in the mix?

Chara. The fact that this situation seems to be, in fact, all Gaster's fault isn't lost on him. He wasn't told all the details although he was told enough to be able to find out what happened with the kid if needed. Gaster fucking with him from beyond the grave. Ugh, not the time Sans. He figures he should go check on the kid's SOUL before work.

He concentrates on the generator room.

He tries to let his magic surge and –nope, nothing.

What?

He tries thinking of the living room now.

His magic stays low, humming in what could be annoyance.

Shit.

Apparently his fighting in the last timeline had carried over into this one. His magic is drained. He's tired even just from the small amount of effort that the concentrating took. It's almost embarrassing.

"BROTHER?" Papyrus sounds annoyed from the other side of the door.

"yeah paps?" He knows he should try and muscle up (ha) the energy to go and unlock his door, but he can't. His bones feel so heavy. He can't even work up the magic to do it from bed. After a second there is a low 'click' sound, he'd forgotten that Paps had a key to his room, and Papyrus steps in. His brother is glaring, but it drops as he eyes Sans.

"BROTHER? ARE YOU FEELING ALRIGHT?" Papyrus' concern is obvious.

"i think so. just don't feel so good today."

After a few minutes of talking, Paps makes him stay home for the day. Sans just sleeps. He doesn't dream.

 

* * *

**Day 2**

 

Sans wakes up after a full day of sleeping feeling completely back to normal. It's super early and he works later in Waterfall, but at least he feels better. He stands up, bones cracking and popping after being asleep for so long, and focuses on the generator room again.

This time he slips into the void with ease. The Blasters, which he'd learned are immune to the resets, chirp in greeting at him. One actually comes up to click it's mandible against his forehead. They aren't usually big on affection.

"heya guys." They chirp at him a little more. "sorry i worried you. it was a rough go, huh? i'll come back later with scraps, promise. gotta go see if you guys permanently damaged that SOUL." The biggest, the alpha that Gaster first trained, gives an indignant huff. 'Of course we did' it seems to say. He doesn't respond, now stepping into the generator room.

Chara's SOUL is still here, but it's not the dark red anymore. It's a pale pink.

"interesting." The scientist in Sans is intrigued, it wants to go poke and prod it, to test it... Sans mentally steps on that. Nope. He's not his dad. Not going to go poking at the thing that powers the underground...yet.

He spends the rest of the day doing his normal routine, trying not to think of what happens next. It doesn't work. That night at Grillby's, he thinks he sees some blue flash occasionally in his friend's flames.

 

* * *

**Day 3**

He's vibrating with nervous energy all day. Frisk doesn’t come out. It's nightfall before Sans finally relaxes. Tomorrow he'll finally write everything that happened in the last two days of the previous timeline down. When he lays down, all the questions he has flood his mind.

Is it over? Is Frisk here? Are you? If you are, will you remember him? They repeat, echoing in his skull. He doesn't fall asleep until the wee hours of the morning.

 

* * *

**Day 4**

 

After Papyrus goes to bed, he goes to his workshop for the first time this timeline. When he pulls out his current composition book, he flips to a new page. He sees a flash of what he assumes is your handwriting. For a second, he debates flipping back and reading it. No, that's your note to yourself. He won't read it...yet.

Rst.277 D.4- _Everything's different now. Frisk was apparently possessed or something like possession. The thing that has been causing all this is apparently the resets has been the spirit of the dead first fallen child, Chara. Gaster somehow got their SOUL and used it to power the lab and part of the CORE._

_So Gaster was sick long before he got his hands on me._

 

He eyes your letters as he puts the book away and decides to leave them alone too.

 

* * *

**Day 6**

 

He thought he was sparing himself when he wouldn't look at you in the shower. That if he couldn't look you in the eye, that he could convince himself that it was 'just sex'.

He wasn't sparing himself. It wasn't just sex.

When he wakes up in the middle of the night mind reeling from the hottest dream he's ever had, all he knows is regret. Not from being with you.

 

From holding back.

 

* * *

 

**Day 7**

 

He's anxious all day. He wants to see you. Wants to talk about everything that happened. Wants to try and beg forgiveness for just leaving you. Wants you to come (ha) willingly in his- err, into his bed (double ha, he really needs to share dirty puns with someone). Tori comes to the door that afternoon and doesn't mention having a human guest.

The evening passes. His shift ends. Nothing.

Is it over?

That night, he goes into his workshop again. This time, he doesn't resist when the letters grab his attention. There's five - one addressed to him, Paps, Grillby, Alphys, Undyne.

He starts with Alphys' letter.

_'Alphys - don't feel bad about what's happened. Please don't blame Undyne. I agreed to this and I wanted this. You didn't fail, okay? We tried. We tried, but there wasn't a solution to be found in a lab. When you get to the surface, I want you to watch the sunset with Undyne. I want you to tell her how you feel. Please? I want you to find a lab on the surface to work in. You're brilliant Al.'_

What the hell? He reads Undynes' next.

_'Undyne - thank you. Thank you for giving us a chance to find another way. I wish we could have been real friends instead of... Whatever weird alliance we have going on. Thank you for (hopefully) making it quick. Free everyone. I know that we seem horrible, but please give humanity a shot before you suplex us all? Keep Alphys and Paps safe for me.'_

You'd been planning on dying? Sans feels the kick in his non-existent gut. You'd apparently struck a deal with Undyne. It wasn't friendship with her, it was a deal. You were willing to die for them. He expects to feel angry, but it doesn't come. Just sadness.

_'Grillby - when I fell, I was expecting to die. Instead, I found a life down here. To you, I'll admit that I think that dying isn't fair. But... I want to free you all. I know you're probably pissed at me. You probably thought that I wouldn't do something stupid like purposely get myself killed. Once you're done being mad, think of me once and a while? If you will, make a little tombstone for me next to your family. Visit me from time to time. Love you._

_P.S - keep an eye on Sans will you?'_

His SOUL hurts. He should stop.

He doesn't.

_'Papyrus - I'm not going to lie to you. I'm dead. I died to be the seventh SOUL. Please don't be upset at anyone - my death is no one's fault but my own. I could have spent the rest of my days with you and your brother and been so so so happy. You're family to me, Paps. So I had to free you._

_So, I have some things I want you to do._

_You need to see the world Paps. I want you to go to the beach. I want you to go to culinary school (not that your cooking isn't great, but in the human world it's a requirement to be a chef) and become the Great Chef Papyrus. Or whatever else you want to do. I want you to fly on an airplane, tour the countries of the world. Live and love. Enjoy everything. Make sure Sans does too. I love you. Don't let anyone change that spark in you.'_

He's crying now. Only one left. His. His hands are shaking now.

_'Hi Sans. I'm sure you've read everyone else's by now. This is the hardest letter to write... I don't know what to say. I'm sure you're furious with me. I don't blame you. I've been lying to you, hiding this from you, when you've been such a great friend to me. So...now you know._

_I don't know what you're hiding or running from Sans, but I want you to treat the surface as a fresh start. Do what makes you happy. I want you to travel with Paps. I want you to see every sunrise and sunset. It kills me that I don't know you that well, but somehow know you the best? Like I want to tell you some inspirational shit, but I've got nothing._

_I wish we would have had more time. I wish I had the guts to tell you how I feel. I wish we... well. If there's an afterlife, I'll keep an eye on you. I'll miss you.'_

He doesn't sleep that night.

* * *

 

Since reading your letters, he's been in a funk. He's known nihilism before, but this...this is a new low. He can usually force himself to act normal in public. Now the second he thinks he's alone, he can't drop his grin fast enough. Will Frisk/Chara come out in three months again? Or is time finally moving on?

It's been ten days since the new timeline begun. He's on morning sentry duty in Snowdin today. It's always quiet in the cave, but even more so before everyone gets up for the day. He's pretty sure that he can heat Papyrus recalibrating one of his puzzles. What time is it? He flips open his phone (6:43am) before flicking it shut in disgust.

He hasn't been sleeping well, so maybe catching a nap won't be a bad idea... His head is resting on his arms when he hears the door to the ruins open. He doesn't move at first, thinking that he's hearing things. It shuts quickly.

Sans never thought that he was a guy that would "freeze up" before. He does. He can't move. He's so scared to see who's coming out of the ruins. What if -?

Deep breath. "come on sans, you're a skeleton. you can't die of fright," he chides himself.

He pops into the void, but can't make himself go through his normal routine. He doesn't have it in him. Instead, he touches down in front of that ridiculous bridge that Papyrus built.

It's you. You and Frisk. Relief floods his SOUL. You're here and Frisk's LV is at one. Frisk smiles at him when they catch his eye. He turns to you next, the hope inside of him flickering on and off. You're limping, looking at the ground to start with. You look up –his breath catches- and smile at him. Maybe you're just friendly. Maybe you saw Frisk smile at him. Maybe you-

Recognition lights up in your eyes.

Maybe you kind of remember him. Maybe you had a dream about him.

Then he sees his name on your lips.

He's closed in the space between you two and himself before he can form another thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **There might not be a chapter tomorrow.** Spawn gets his six month vaccines tomorrow morning which usually means one of two things are going to happen. He's either going to A)sleep like the dead (not likely) or B)insist on being held and carried around the house for the rest of the day (likely). He might just shake it off, but I doubt that too. 
> 
> I'll try though :)


	25. Reunion

The two of you keep moving forward, you limping a bit. Flowey had apparently shot you in your left thigh out of spite as well. It burns and hurts to walk, but you try to keep your game face on for Frisk. They have enough on their plate without adding you being seriously injured into the mix. The pain is helping you in a way as well. It's hard to be nervous about seeing someone when you're trying not to collapse in the snow.

Frisk looks confused when the tree limb doesn't snap. "It's early Frisk. I bet he's sleeping." You giggle for a second before the pain in your leg brings you back to earth. Ouch. You wince and wrap your arm around Frisk's shoulders as much as you can.

Don't think about how bad it hurts. You can do it. Think of...

…

…

Think of how bad your back hurts instead?

Okay, you can't do it.

The two of you are a little ways away from the bridge when Sans appears. You didn't notice the feeling of him shortcutting in at first, but when you look up... He's there. He looks terrible. There are what look like dark circles under his eye sockets, he's openly frowning, and he seems to be hunched into himself. Guilt prickles in your belly. You could have tried to somehow get him a message or left sooner...

He's looking at Frisk at first, not that you blame him, but when his pinpricks switch to you the guilt begins to die. He's looking at you like he's been stuck in the desert for weeks and you're the first water he's seen. Or would it be a snowstorm and a fire? He's not moving at all. You smile and there's a glimmer of something in the whites of his eyes.

Hope. It's hope. He doesn't think you remember him. He's trying to piece it together and it has him frozen in place.

"Sans," you try to say his name loud, but barely manage a whisper. You're so caught up in observing him that you hadn't noticed your own nerves picking up. The air crackles twice in sudden succession when you see Sans directly in front of you both. He's fallen to his knees, one arm around your waist and the other around Frisks shoulders.

Frisk looks up at you, confused, when you shrug. "Let him have this," you mouth to them. His skull is pressed your hip and you can feel the tears on you. You stroke the top of his skull with your free hand and you see Frisk wrap him into a hug. After a few minutes, Sans finally pulls himself together.

"thought you were gone." He's in your hip still. "thought i wouldn't be able to make things right."

You probably shouldn't have this particular conversation in the snow in front of Frisk. Especially in front of Frisk. Before you can speak up, Frisk does.

" _Sans, ---- is hurt._ " His skull snaps up to finally look at you. " _Flowey got her._ "

"sh-crap," hearing him correct himself makes you smile. "well lets get moving. paps is probably moving this way already. he's the only dude i know that can move at a normal pace this early."

" _But Sans-_ "

"paps needs to meet you two. if two humans just appear at my house, there will be a ton of questions i'm not ready to answer." Sans' tone is curt with Frisk.

"A _skele_ -ton?" You quip, trying to lighten the mood. It works, Frisk groans in your head and Sans immediately catches on to your silent reprimand.

"ouch. i must be off my game if you're stealing my puns." He gets up, moving between you and Frisk, wrapping an arm around you. You're blushing at the display of affection when he looks at you funny. "arm around me, doofus. put your weight on me, i'll help you get my sentry station. i don't want to shortcut with you yet. if paps sees, he'll know somethings up."

Oh. Duh. Hurt leg, limping. Frisk is on your other side now and the three of you start to move. Being able to put some weight on Sans really is helping. There's an awkward tension in the air between you and Sans that you desperately hope that Frisk won't pick up on.

The sentry station is in sight when Papyrus bounds into view. Papyrus. Your heart and SOUL swell with joy at the sight. It's going to be hard acting like you don't know him, like you're cautious of him, but knowing he's alive makes it worth it. So you stamp down your smile.

"SANS YOU STILL -" He stops talking and moving at the same time taking the sight before him. "SANS. ARE THOSE...?"

"yup. humans. this one's hurt. got any monster candy on you bro?" Sans sounds strained. Acting casual is clearly killing him.

"IT'S FIRST THING IN THE MORNING SO NO, I DON'T. NO SWEET SNACKS BEFORE NOON AFTER ALL!" Papyrus thinks for a second. "I SHOULD GO GET SOME THOUGH...HOW CAN THEY ATTEMPT MY PUZZLES IF THEY'RE HURT?"

"dunno."

You pretend to think for a second. "I'll suck it up and do -." " _No,_ " Frisk's voice is loud and clear, " _I'll do them for the both of us_!"

"OH-HO! DO YOU THINK YOU ARE UP FOR THE CHALLENGE, TINY HUMAN?"

" _I do!_ "

"NYEH HEH HEH! SANS, YOU STAY WITH THE SMALL HUMAN AND I WILL TAKE THIS TINY HUMAN THROUGH OUR GAUNTLET."

The two of them run off, you and Sans hot on their heels. Sort of.

"Sans, we should talk about -"

"not around the kid." Seeing your face, he elaborates. "if the kid was a monster, they'd be a loox with extra-large bat ears. they see and hear everything."

You start giggling and that, dissolving into real laughter as Sans uses his magic to put you on his back to carry you.

* * *

 

Watching Frisk with Papyrus is possibly the cutest thing ever. Sans is tense watching them, for a guy with no muscles you're pretty sure you can feel the tension in his scapula under you, actually... how is he doing this?

"Awkward question time. How do you even work Sans?"

"hmm?" He turns his skull towards you, eyes still focused on the two ahead of you.

"How do skeleton monsters work? I'm on your back and my legs are actually resting on something that isn't your spine."

The little bit of his plastered-on grin that you can see turns wicked. "pretty sure that you need to at least take me out to dinner before you can start asking questions like that. i like to be wine and dined." You groan out a low 'oh my god' as Sans chuckles. "seriously, it's magic. i can manifest a body when i want, it just takes effort."

Memories of a certain manifested body part return and you blush. "Makes sense, I guess." You certainly weren't in the, uh, position to question how he fucked you the last time he did something like this. He sees your blush and chuckles again. He tilts his head back towards you and whispers, so lowly that you almost can't hear him, "we can't talk now, but i missed you. thought i'd never see you again."

You don't answer since Frisk and Papyrus are done with this puzzle and staring at the two of you. "Sans, time to go. They're done." He starts to move forward when you press your head against the side of his skull as much as you can. You hope he can feel the implied "missed you too".

* * *

 

They skipped the bridge of doom again, only pausing so that Frisk could reserve a room for the two of you at the Inn, so now you're laying on your stomach on their living room floor munching on monster candy. Papyrus and Frisk are working on breakfast (Frisk assures you that they will at least keep the glitter and sequins out of it) while Sans keeps an eye on how things are healing.

"My leg look any better?"

"you know asking more often won't make it _heel_ any faster, right?"

"Did you just...?" You look over at the monster. "You did. You punned at my expense. Jerk."

He smirks for a second before he looks back at your wounds. You look back down at the floor, jumping lightly when you feel one of his phalanges trace around a bullet hole. It's a quick motion before his hand is gone. Your heart jumps in your throat when it dawns on you. That was a caress.

"I know, I need to stop getting shot," you mumble into the floor.

Was your little crush... Okay, you'll stop lying to yourself. Was your big infatuation with him not one-sided? You frown into the floor.

Sans gives a low 'mm-hm' to answer you.

You think back over the last timeline. The two of you had been close for sure. You had opened up to each other. He'd pulled the whole 'keep the girl safe' thing with you. Sans, who never puts effort into anything, put effort into his apology to you. After you said he didn't freak you out, he'd taken off those gloves of his.

That he still wasn't wearing. He'd promised to make up for just leaving you, kissing you before he'd left you in Hotland. Oh. He likes you too. Thank god for the floor, you'd never be able to hide your thoughts with the blush.

"BREAKFAST IS DONE! MY LATEST CULINARY MASTERPIECE IS COMPLETE!"

Deep breaths, ----, deep breaths.

* * *

During breakfast, which Frisk had salvaged, the four of you ease into a new dynamic. There's still suspicion in Sans' eyes when he eyes Frisk, but it's not as easy to see. Papyrus is thrilled that you like his spaghetti. Frisk seems on edge, but happy. You...You're happy.

"SMALL HUMAN!" You snap out of your thoughts. "MAKE SURE YOU ARE PREPARED TOMORROW! IN THE MORNING IT WILL BE YOUR TURN TO GO THROUGH THE GREAT PAPYRUS' PUZZLES!"

"I'll be ready." You smile at the tall skeleton. You're fine with a break.

" _\----? It's just us two right now. Blink once for yes, twice for no_." Their voice is rushed. " _I want to talk to Sans, but he... he scares me a little bit. Can you be there? Can he come to the room later so we can talk? Please?_ "

You take a giant bite of spaghetti before giving one very deliberate blink.

After a few more minutes of talking, an offer to help clean the kitchen that was rejected, and a reminder to be ready in the morning, the two of you were on your way back to the Inn for a nap.

" _He's coming once Papyrus goes to train_ ," Frisk sounds nervous.

"Frisk, it'll be fine." You're nervous too.

 

******************************************

 

Sans makes a big show of being lazy when Papyrus gets ready to go train. He's one with the couch (although he'd rather be one with you. Could he get Frisk to go do something for a while so he could "talk" with you? No, he doesn’t trust them) when Papyrus flies down the stairs and out the door. He waits five minutes before he steps into the void.

Coming out of it in your room, the sight he walks in on almost makes him forget his anger at Frisk. The two of you had clearly been trying to wait for him, but couldn't. The events of the morning had taken a toll since you're both asleep. You’re propped up on pillows, with Frisk tangled in your arms and between your legs. Frisk is snoring lightly, your chin on their head.

The sight of you like this warms his SOUL.

As if sensing his presence, your eyes flicker open and over towards him before giving him a soft smile. It dawns on him then that this is the first time that you two can partially talk about the last timeline. He doesn't know what to say. What can he say?

"Hey boneboy," your voice is low. "Come have a seat."

He still can't find his voice, but he does remember how to move. He joins you in bed cautiously, blushing. If Frisk wasn't here... He scolds himself. He needs to control his magic, his feelings. What if you didn't feel – The thought dies when you lean your head against his shoulder.

"how you holding up?" He finally finds his voice.

"Better now that I know that everything really did reset." He leans his skull on the top of your head and for a blissful minute, he lets himself stop thinking. It's just him, you, and the sleeping kid. "It's harder than I thought it'd be. Acting like I don't know anyone, I mean." He doesn't say anything for a few minutes, still wrapped up in the moment. When he starts to think about answering you, he notices that your breathing has slowed.

You're asleep again.

He smiles and closes his sockets. He'll just enjoy the feeling for a few minutes...

* * *

 

" _Ummm...guys?_ " The voice in his head jolts him awake. Fuck, how had he fallen asleep?

Frisk isn't murderous (yet), but he doesn't trust them. There's too much baggage in the way. Even if it wasn't them, it had been their body that had killed everyone time and time again. That would take them to the surface for a few days before resetting.

Frisk is looking back and forth between the two of you, clearly confused about something. Sans realizes why. At some point, the two of you had snuggled closer- his arm around your shoulders, one of your hands had moved to his femur, he'd pressed his side against you, your heads resting against each other.

"sorry kid. ya looked peaceful," he keeps his voice calm as he wiggles his shoulder a bit.

"Wha-?" You sound pissed about being woken back up. "Oh, my bad. Didn't mean to fall asleep again." You move your hand and your head away. Sans mourns the loss a bit.

" _You said you'd wake me up,_ " Frisk's voice is accusing.

"We had a rough morning Frisk. You needed the rest and besides," you grin wickedly, now awake. "It's not like Sans can turn down a nap." He chuckles lightly at the face Frisk makes at you. When Frisk glances at him though, they sober. They look scared.

They should be.

"So here's how this is going to work. I'm going to be here, just listening." You toss him a notebook and a pen. "If either of you don't want me to hear something, Frisk can just block me out and Sans, use the paper. There's no hard feelings if you do."

Frisk looks shocked and so is he. "Well, you wanted me to be here and I get that there might be some things you don't want me to hear." You shrug. "Not my business."

Frisk sits up completely, but stays between your legs.

" _I'm so sorry Sans._ " They sniffle, shaking. " _I didn't know about what was going on all the time. I didn't always know that you remember._ "

"what do you mean?" He tries to sound neutral, like this is them talking about the weather. He wants to know so many things, but knows that if he loses his cool Frisk will shut down. He doesn't want that. He does actually feel bad that Frisk was actually as scared as they were. He shouldn't, but he does.

" _Chara was in my head all the time. Sometimes I could force them back, but sometimes I didn't even know they were there. I think they could lock my memories up._ " Frisk sounds sad.

"what do you remember?"

" _That I've been doing this a long time. That I...I killed everyone sometimes. That I've killed you before. That we've gotten out of here before._ " They pause, wiping tears off their face. You run your fingers through their hair, comforting them he realizes. You must have talked about this before with them. " _I don't remember how many times_."

It's strange. He always wanted to talk to Frisk about everything. Now that he's here...Now that the moment is here, he has no idea what to say. They're looking at him with wide brown eyes like they're waiting for him to snap.

He thinks it's funny in a way. For months, he hasn't thought of them as a kid. Sure he'd call them kid, but he didn't think a kid would be able to do what they did. In a way, he guesses he was right. From the way Frisk is looking, he finally just sees the child that fell and was possessed.

"can...can you just talk about it kid? i don't know what to ask."

They do.

* * *

 

Once they're done talking, all three of you are crying. You hadn't said a word, but hearing the entire story from Frisk must have finally done it. He still doesn't trust Frisk very much (he told you both as much), but he was willing to try and leave all the past actions in the past. They'd admitted that sometimes, during a fight, it would be them that struck a monster. They insisted that they'd never killed one though. That was always Chara. That Chara would 'suggest' a reset on the surface, claiming that they hadn't saved everyone, and if Frisk wouldn't bite...

Sans was suddenly thankful that he hadn't lived with them on the surface. Apparently Chara would kill Tori to force a reset.

Sans checks his phone only to see that it's the middle afternoon now. He's been here a while. He should go. He shouldn't let Papyrus suspect that he already knew you two. He doesn't want to go.

You get it.

"How about I cook dinner tonight? You go get some ingredients and I cook something besides spaghetti. You can tell Paps that I want to do it to thank you guys for being so awesome."

He grins for real now. That is an excellent idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spawn is sleeping so here you go! 
> 
> The forecast currently reads that there's a bunch of fluff in the immediate future, but we all know how accurate forecasts can be. *shrugs*


	26. Hey Jealousy

Dinner had been a hit, you think. You'd made alfredo and Papyrus had, quite possibly, fallen in love with you. A new kind of pasta that he'd never seen before? With white sauce? You'd blown his mind.

  
You still found yourself at the start of the forest in the morning, a blindfold being pulled off of your eyes by a very eager skeleton. Waking up had been quite an event. You'd woken up to Papyrus bursting into your room (an apologetic Sans behind him) telling you two to get dressed. So you had, only to be promptly blindfolded and pulled up into the younger brother's arms bridal style. So that you "couldn't memorize his steps". Total overkill.

  
No complaints though. He was alive and still the same Papyrus.  
"COME SHORT HUMAN! LET US BEGIN! NYEH HEH HEH!" Between his enthusiasm and the sight of Frisk giggling on Sans' shoulders, you almost lose it giggling too.

* * *

  
Everything had gone well. You had solved the puzzles with ease, pretending to struggle a bit with a few of them. Now at the start of town, Papyrus looked absolutely crushed.

  
"Papyrus, what's wrong?" You hate the look on his face.  
"I...I WAS UNABLE TO CAPTURE EITHER ONE OF YOU TWO. IT WOULD NOT BE RIGHT TO JUST CAPTURE YOU NOW, ESPECIALLY AS YOU BOTH HAVE BEEN SO NICE." He gives you a shy smile that falls again after a second. "UNDYNE IS GOING TO BE SO MAD AT ME. I'M NEVER GOING TO BE PART OF THE ROYAL GUARD."

  
"Don't say that Paps. You give this your all." Uh, just met him again. "I can just tell that you do!" Good catch. "Maybe Undyne is just waiting to find a place to put you?"

  
"HMM...MAYBE." He doesn't sound convinced. You'd change that.

* * *

  
It's later in the day when Sans approaches you. He sneaks up behind you while you and Frisk are "exploring" the woods. Frisk is currently preoccupied with Lesser Dog.

  
"grillby's tonight?" He sounds nervous, which is adorable. The two of you still need to talk, but... not near the kid, like he'd said.

  
"When?"

"after dinner."

  
"One problem." You nod towards Frisk, who's petting Lesser Dog's belly. Does it hurt when his neck gets that long?

  
"what about them? they'll be asleep, right? it's not like they'll leave without you." You aren't so sure about that.

  
"They have nightmares. Well, more like night terrors. It's not a good thing if they wake up alone and I know you aren't ready for them to be near Papy alone."

  
He looks crestfallen. You are too, to be honest. "What about all three of us? I know it's not ideal, but it's loud there and we could at least talk about a few things while they're distracted by the canines."

  
"yeah."

  
"Sorry Sans." You reach back and squeeze his hand. "I want to talk about... everything that happened too." Saying that you want to talk about "us" sounds too presumptuous in your head. 

  
You drop his hand, going to scold Frisk for patting Lesser Dog so much. Poor thing is in the middle of the path and still managed to knock his head on his station.

  
When you look back, Sans is gone.

* * *

  
You and Frisk are heading to Grillby's now and you are dreading this. With every fiber of your being. You'd been so excited before your dinner at their house. A chance to finally talk (sort of) alone? YES.

  
And then dinner had happened.

  
Papyrus had the look on his face like he was trying to piece together a puzzle within five minutes of you two walking in. He'd been friendly and still acting like himself, but you could tell he was distracted. Sans was worried too. Then during dinner, the look was suddenly gone when you looked over. He’d figured something out.

  
Then after dinner, Papyrus had asked you out on a date.

  
A date. Tomorrow morning. A date tomorrow with the wrong brother.

  
Frisk had grinned, their laughter ringing privately in your head. What a brat. " _Do it, ----. He's taken me on dates before, it's not what you think!_ "

  
"Um, sure thing Paps."

  
You don't have the guts to look a Sans for a few minutes. Frisk does.

  
" _\----. I think Sans is jealous_." You say nothing. Don't look at Sans. Papyrus is going on like nothing had just happened, that asking someone out was just that easy, while the person you do actually want to go on a date is right out of your line of sight.

  
It's been a while since you wished for the ground to swallow you whole.

  
Sans had only made sure that you were still coming to Grillby's. Other than that? Not a peep.

  
Sans is waiting outside for you both. With his hood over his skull, its fluff softening his features, and hands jammed into his pockets, you feel your SOUL thrum in happiness at the sight of him. Who would have thought you would have ever been attracted to a skeleton monster?

  
"heya." He sounds off though.

  
" _Hey Sans_!" Frisk sounds so excited. " _Please don't pour ketchup on my food this time_."

  
"You pour ketchup on peoples' food? What's wrong with you? You some sort of monster?" You try to lighten the mood, ease the tension on his face. You can take the grin when it's genuine.

  
"heh, no promises kid." He ignores your joke. Ouch.

  
The three of you go in, Frisk immediately running up to the dogs, leaving you and Sans to go to the bar. You feel awkward, but shove it aside. You get to see Grillby! He's at the other end of the bar, playing with the drinks. A few very long awkward minutes pass.

  
"my brother huh?" He sounds so hurt when he finally speaks up.

  
"Sans, you know I -" Grillby sees you, shit he thinks you're dangerous again. "Sans! Grillby!" You hiss under your breath.

  
"shit," he mumbles. "grillbz it's fine."

There's a drink placed in front of you by the fire elemental. It's one that you really liked before the reset. Wait. Could he...?

  
"No it's not," your former friend whispers in English. He's directly in front of you now. He leans in close, his face nearly touching yours.

  
"grillbz?" Sans sounds tense and you can feel the magic in the air again. Sans wouldn't use his magic on his friend.

Would he?

  
"Hello ----."

  
Your jaw drops. He does! He remembers you.It takes Sans another second to process it apparently, but when he does you feel the weight of the energy of his magic collapse.

  
"You...you remember?" You look at him, noticing the blue that occasionally flickered into sight. You need to hear him say it.

  
"I thought I was having nightmares. I thought I was going crazy. Now," he sounds stern, his head gesturing towards Frisk. "The two of you have some explaining to do."

  
"Tomorrow," you blurt out. "Please. All three of us, let's meet up and talk about it.” It's too crowded to do this now and Frisk can't be up until two in morning. Not to mention that, in his current mood, if Sans hears about the SOUL thing you think he might blow a gasket.

  
"Ten in the morning sound good?" Grillby, clearly over his initial shock, is relaxed. He's leaning against the bar between the two of you.

  
"she can't," Sans' tone is venomous. "she has a date with papyrus."

  
Grillby looks at you. Then to Sans. Back to you again. Here it comes.. "What the hell happened? ----, you sly dog you. Three men -"

  
"OKAY THAT’S ENOUGH," your voice pitches high in embarrassment. You clear your throat. "Noon sound good?" Grillby is smirking and Sans is looking at you two, lost. Good. He needed to stay lost for a few more hours. You quickly order three baskets of fries while Sans processes what's going on.

  
"three men huh?" Frisk wasn't wrong earlier. Sans is unbelievably jealous.

  
"Ugh, it's not what you think." You bury your head in your hands. "I panicked with Paps. I couldn't imagine hurting his feelings. I'm going to let him down easy, I swear."

A full minute passes and he doesn't say a word. You dare to peek out of the corner of your hand – black shorts. He's still here. "Grillby... well, you'll find out tomorrow. It's not whatever you're thinking."

  
" _\----! Sans! Did you get food?_ "

  
"just ordered it kiddo. gotcha some fries. i _mayo_  accidentally ordered extra ketchup for you."  
" _Eww! I'll be there when it comes out, the pups are going to teach me to play poker!_ "

You laugh, moving your hands to look over at Frisk. They’re adorable. It's them, Lesser Dog, Greater Dog, and Doggo playing. Doggo is explaining something apparently, based on how Greater Dog is moving the entire table. You don't look directly at Sans when you look away from Frisk, deciding to drink some of your drink instead. He's watching you though. You can feel his eyes digging into you.

  
"shit. i keep fucking up, huh?" You don't get a chance to answer before you're closer to Sans. Sneaky skeleton had hooked an ankle around your barstool to pull you close. "it's just been. well, not a long time." He's blushing lightly, a slight baby blue tint to his face. "a lot has happened."

  
You grin, thrilled to know that he was just as anxious to talk about what happened as you were. "A lot did happen. Did you read my note in your notebook?"

  
"no. i read the letters." Well, shit. "that we really need to talk about."

  
You decide to ignore that for now. You can only imagine the ass-chewing that that's going to be like. "Ah. Well, don't yet. There's another note at the back that you should read," you pause to lean on him.

"It's just you, Sans. I'm only interested in you." Before you can lose your nerve, you press your lips to his teeth in a kiss. You quickly pull away, seeing the now neon cerulean blush on his cheekbones. He looks like he's trying to say something when Grillby appears with food.

  
"I'm glad to see you two are making up." Grillby sounds sincere, none of his usual bite in his words. “If you're going to start making out, please do it elsewhere. I have a business to run and you two have a kid with you.” There he is, there’s the Grillby you know and love.

  
“are we too _hot_ for you grillbz? is that why you interrupted the _tinder_ moment?” You both groan.

Dammit Sans. Sans starts on another one as Grillby turns on his heel and walks away.

  
"Frisk! Food!" You say, swatting the away the ketchup bottle that Sans is reaching across and over you to pour on Frisk's plate.

* * *

  
There's no sign of Sans in the morning when you meet Paps at the entrance to the forest. You thought that someone would be playing spy, but apparently not. He must have decided to trust you. You and Paps make small talk as you walk further into the woods. This wouldn't be awkward if it wasn't for the whole "date" thing being thrown around last night.

  
When you get to his sentry station, he sits down and pats the top of it. What is going on? You hop up on to it, curious. Papyrus is eyeing the area around you two suspiciously. He's looking for Sans. You bite down a smile.

  
"----, I must apologize for deceiving you. This isn't a date for my feelings are only platonic towards you." His voice is low and so serious. "I wanted to talk to you alone."

  
"Oh, that's fine. You could have just asked, you know."

  
"I know! There's a reason for it though. How do you feel about my brother?" Oh boy. This..you don't know what you were expecting, but this is certainly wasn't it.

  
"He seems cool. Why?"

  
"Not what I meant. I should explain." Papyrus takes a deep breath. "My brother and I haven't had the best life. It hasn't been all bad, but our dad wasn't around much. Sans actually raised me for the most part. Dad was the Royal Scientist so he was always busy. Sans followed in his footsteps quickly since once he was old enough to show he was seriously interested, dad tutored him. He's young, but was considered a rising star. I don't know much about their time from the lab, but I know our dad wasn't kind to Sans."

  
"A year ago our dad died. Sans withdrew. I haven't seen him truly happy in ages. Well, from time to time I'll see a glimpse of my brother. Then two days ago, I saw the way he looked at you. Then yesterday, I put it together. He's interested in you."

  
"So why did you ask me out?" You're confused.

  
"Sans is many things. He's smart, loyal, strong willed, and occasionally even funny. He's not exactly self-motivated though." Oh my god. Papyrus was being a wingman. This is absolutely precious. Could you love this skeleton anymore? "I knew that if I made a move first and if our date doesn't go well... he might actually do something for once.”

  
You laugh, trying to not sound mean. "Paps, you're a great brother. We had drinks last night," you admit. "He was definitely jealous now that you mention it."

  
"NYEH HEH HEH! I KNOW MY BROTHER!" He pauses, a huge smile on his face. "Just give him a chance please? He never made time to really date before. I don't think that he believes that anyone would want to be with him.. He won't tell me why, but he just always says he's too lazy to date.”

  
You grab his hand and give it a squeeze. "I will. I was actually going to gently turn you down today. I'm... I'm drawn to him." It's not exactly a lie.

  
"GOOD! NOW, MOVING FORWARD, WOULD YOU LIKE TO TRAIN WITH ME SMALL HUMAN?"

  
Some things don't change. Papyrus' love and enthusiasm included.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goozer nailed it! Reader's determination caused Grillby to be able to remember. Why blue flames? Blue is just extra-hot fire ;) 
> 
> ~~My fiancé's 12 year old laptop looks like it finally kicked the bucket last night. Luckily, I actually worked on this on OneDrive so the next few chapters are safe. I am uploading from mobile for the foreseeable future. UGH.~~ Go figure that as soon as I finished editing/formatting this on my phone that the computer finally loads up. FFS. Be smart, save your stuff on the cloud in case of crabby computers.


	27. Clearing the Air

After finding Frisk drawing in a cave, the three of you head back to the brothers' home. You still have an hour left until you meet up with Grillbz and apparently Sans is still asleep, so into Paps room you go.

"LITTLE HUMAN FRISK! YOUR FRIEND HAS AGREED TO TRAIN WITH ME. ARE YOU UP TO THE CHALLENGE AS WELL?"

" _I am!_ " They sound so determined that it makes you smile. " _I bet you'll be a great coach Papyrus!_ "

The skeleton blushes orange. "OF COURSE I WILL BE! ERR...I SHOULD PROBABLY TEACH YOU BOTH HOW TO DEFEND YOURSELVES TOO."

"With our SOULs?" You're excited. You'd seen it and you'd sort of fought with it; the prospect of learning to control your SOUL is exciting.

"OF COURSE! HOW ELSE WOULD YOU?"

"I know some physical self-defense moves." After your ex, you'd made sure to learn. Nothing crazy, but enough to be relatively confident in your ability to get away from dangerous humans. At least long enough to call for help anyway. 

" _REALLY_?" Paps and Frisk ask at the time. You wince a bit - assault on your eardrums.

Thirty minutes later, Sans finds you "fighting" with his brother and Frisk. You're in the process of "disarming" Papyrus when you see him in the doorway. He's watching with that look on his face - intrigued yet reserved. Now that you know what it is, you realize he looks at you like that a lot.

"Want some of this, bonehead?" You grin up at him. Your face is flushed and you're breathing a bit heavy - this had turned into quite the workout.

"depends. whatcha doing?"

"The human version of disarming. I'm being gentle."

"eh, _tibia_ honest i like my arms." All three of you groan, you're the only one that laughs while you groan. "I'm kind of _attached_ to them." Papyrus screams (ow, eardrums!) and Frisk face palms.

"You sure? I think you'd be okay _sans_ an arm." Papyrus grabs Frisk and loudly announces that they'll be in the forest before leaving. Sans grin is real now. You hear a loud door slam.

"i love it when you make my name a pun." It's the first time the two of you have been alone since... Well, you cross the distance to him quickly.

"Are you going to be okay with Frisk being with Paps alone?"

His grin is devious as he pulls you towards him, spinning the two of you so that you're in the hallway, you pressed against the wall.

"yep. can i?"

"You don't need to ask. Yes." His real grin widens for a second before he leans close. You close your eyes, his lips meeting yours.

His kiss is soft and sweet. Unlike the last time, there's no need to hurry. The world isn't falling to pieces around the two of you. When he presses against you, tongue asking for entrance, he's still all passion, but there's no rush.

When you break apart, you don't open your eyes. You feel the gentle tap of his forehead on to yours as he sighs.

"two brothers in one day huh? i think this is the plot of one of alphys' animes."

"Anime or hentai?" You test him.

"you wouldn't fuck my brother," you grin against his lips as he finishes that sentence. "shut up, we practically lived in that lab as interns together. speaking of, how was your date?" His voice is teasing, playful.

"It wasn't a date. He just wanted to talk to me alone."

"'bout what?"

"Tell ya later." You press into him this time and he hums happily. It takes him a minute to pull away for real, looking at his phone.

"got to be at grillbz's place in ten."

"Boo."

He looks at you and his pupils vanish. For a second your gut twists in fear. The last time he looked at you like that had been when he threatened you and used his magic on you. He stomps that fear down. "looking like that... grillby may have to wait." 

You can only imagine what you look like. "No, we need to do this." Sans is on you again, clearly trying to get you to change your mind.

You could really lose track of everything like this. Sans is a great distraction, moving from your lips, to your jawline, and to your neck. He nips at you, causing your hands to tighten around his ribs. He freezes and you think you hurt him for a second before he lets out a moan.

He pulls away and steps away. "fuck."

"No kidding."

Grillby. Think of the bartender. He needs an explanation. This can wait. This grounds you. "Maybe we can make this meeting fast?"

"please, can we?" He steps close again, acting like he's going to tell you a secret. "'cause we need to talk and depending on how that goes... well, i'd like to know what you look like in my bed."

You shiver as he walks away. Oh, fuck you. Fuck you sideways.

"Sans?" He's waiting for you at the door now. "Before we go, you should know that you're probably going to hear something that's going to make you mad. It was necessary though, ok? Please, uh, hear everything before you run off?"

He looks worried now, but agrees. He grabs your hand and you laugh at the feeling of the void pulling you in.

* * *

 

The first few minutes at Grillby's are awkward to say the least. When the bartender slides into a booth across from the two of you (you on the inside in case of a pissed off Sans) with three large drinks that absolutely _reek_ of liquor it's a relief. The tension is high, but it's not your place to break it. For the most part, this is Sans' story to tell.

"I take it we were correct about our idea of Chara possessing the kid?" Grillby breaks the silence, index finger dancing on the rim of his glass.

"Yeah." More awkward silence. Grillby finally sighs.

"Fess up Sans."

Sans tells Grillby everything. Grillby listens without a word. For the second time you hear about the resets. Sans tells him everything, mentioning his notes to Grillby. Sans manages to be incredibly factual, almost emotionally detached, during his explanation. It probably helps that Frisk is themselves instead of a murderer this time.

"so after three years of the same week repeating, we had three months of one timeline before frisk fell, and now ---- and frisk are here together," Sans finishes finally. There's silence at first.

"So Frisk was possessed by Chara. Chara's SOUL is still there, but is now a pale pink color."

"yep." Sans pops the 'p' sound. Grillby seems to just take it all in for another minute before he sighs.

"I thought I'd been going crazy Sans. It's almost a relief to know that I'm not. I've been having dreams that I swear I'd lived more than once before. Déjà vu." He hadn't touched his drink during the entire explanation and now he swallows half of it in one swig. "Shit. Are you going to tell Papyrus?"

"not yet. i want to wait until i know it's the last one. i can't go through telling him time and time again." Grillby nods at his explanation. "now uh, i'd like to know what happened after i left the lab."

Grillby and you share a look. Grillby gives you a look that clearly says "not me" so you begin. "After you left, we were going through Gaster's notes. While we were doing that, I remembered something Grillby said earlier. He remembered Gaster as your dad. So I asked him about Chara at first, which lead to him sharing that..." You stumble over how to talk about Grillby's story for a second. Not your place. "Well, from personal experience, that human SOULs can take control of monster ones. From there, Grillby couldn't remember anything more about Gaster besides a bad feeling."

Here comes the hard part. You find Sans' hand and give it a squeeze.

"Alphys came up with the idea of injecting Grillby with determination since he'd been exposed to it before, except she was out. So...I gave Grillby some of mine?" Sans' expression is murderous at first. You actually feel yourself lean away from him a bit before he reigns it in. He goes from murderous, to shocked, to worried in rapid succession.

"holy." He stops himself. "fuck, are you two alright? shit, that's why you remember this time! that's why you're blue."

"I'm fine Sans." Grillby answers.

"Me too."

"thank god." He heaves a heavy sigh before he glances over at you. "this what you were so worried about? i'm good now. promise." There's a loud crackle, which you recognize as Grillby's native tongue and Sans turns the brightest shade of blue you've ever seen.

"Let's finish this up before you two start making eyes at each other please." Grillby finally says so you can understand him.

"Anyway, uh, Grillby remember that him and Gaster were friends back in the day. When your dad stole Chara's SOUL, he for whatever reason locked away Grillby's memories of him away. From there we figured out that Chara's SOUL was powering the underground." It's definitely the short version of things, but it's enough.

Sans presses his leg against yours under the table as Grillby crackles to Sans. You sigh and take a few sips of your drink. What are they talking about? Sans is glaring at him but the more Grillby crackles, the less angry he looks. Once Grillby stops crackling Sans looks downright embarrassed.

Strange.

"Well I need to go run some errands since even with life changing news, the bar still needs to open in a few hours," Grillby announces. "So you two need to go. When you come back tonight, well -" he pops at Sans a few times.

"yeah, yeah, yeah. i got it grillbz." Sans grouses, standing. Grillby also stands and gestures for you to come over to him. You do, and are immediately yanked into an incredibly warm hug. Of course, Grillby. Please antagonize Sans more for your own entertainment.

"I told him to talk to you. Don't let him get out of it," he whispers in your ear.

You won't.

* * *

 

You and Sans are sitting in the snow, watching Frisk and Papyrus "golf" a few minutes later. You're sitting on Sans' jacket, Sans directly next to you. You keep catching the golfers looking at you. Frisk had either figured it out themselves or Papyrus had told them enough to piece together that you and Sans were more than friends. You keep catching them giving you the biggest shit eating grin, which in turn, gets Papyrus to look at you the same way.

What a brat.

"I feel like we're on display," you say after the fifth time they look over at you two. Sans hasn't said much since you left Grillbz. He looks nervous, fiddling with the snow.

"huh? oh, yeah. me too." More fiddling. No wonder he wears a jacket all the time. He looks like he doesn't know what to do with his hands without it.

"DO YOU TWO WISH TO ACCOMPANY US TO BUILD SNOW-SKELETONS?"

"we'll catch up in a bit paps, promise!" Sans beats you to answering.

" _Good luck_ ," Frisk sing-songs in your head. " _I guess I know why Sans was so upset now_."

What you wouldn't give to be temporarily telepathic right now. You hope your glare can get the point across. Frisk just giggles before skipping off with Papyrus.

There's that tension again. It's heavy and almost tangible between the two of you. This is your third day in Snowdin and you still haven't really resolved anything with him. Sure, you two had kissed this morning. The real issues were just under the surface.

"tell me about human relationships," he says finally. "how they, uh, progress and stuff. please?"

You raise an eyebrow at him, confused. "maybe it'll help me explain monster relationships better."

You explain dating and the concept of marriage. You get distracted on human rights (Sans is absolutely floored that human race has issues with interracial relationships, same sex marriage, and with people identifying as a gender different than the sex that they're born as – clearly none of those are even worth batting an eye at down here), but you think you touch on everything. When you talk a bit about kids, he stops you.

"wait. you can have kids on accident?" Sans sounds shocked.

"It happens fairly frequently." You shrug. "It's usually only a 'big deal' if the woman is single or if cheating is suspected."

Sans looks like... He looks like he's swallowed a lemon whole. "humans have casual sex?" Is he nervous?

"Yeah, we can. Not everyone does, but it's no longer as big of a taboo as it once was. Why?"

He's sweating now, looking anywhere besides you. He is nervous. "Sans?" You prod him a bit.

"is that what happened between us to you?"

You blush. "I don't want it to be," you manage to say. "I want to be more than friends with benefits."

He finally looks at you, relief written all over him. "thank god. i thought... shit, i thought i'd misread everything." He takes a deep breath. "monster relationships are a little different. if two monsters start dating, it's usually already semi-serious. there's a point where we share SOULs with each other to see if it can be a permanent thing."

"Share SOULs?" You're curious. "How do SOULs make babies?"

"if we're compatible for the long haul, our SOULs will react to each other. i don't know how. never shared mine with someone and it's not exactly something you just talk about. as for kids, both SOULs have to be totally willing for the biological process to work. not that matters for us period. " Poor Sans reminds you of a raspberry snow cone with how much he's blushing. His entire face was blue, except for the very top of his head.

"That's interesting," you say, trying to calm him back down. "Tori mentioned bonding this time in the ruins. What's that?"

"well, to start, we still get married. it's more of a party to celebrate bonding or the intent to bond soon. bonding is when we bond our SOULs together. we can even bond with more than one monster. it can be broken as i'm sure tori mentioned, but it's painful. asgore apparently hasn't been the same since tori severed part of their bond. "

He's less embarrassed now, but you have to know. "Back to the kids thing," you say and you feel him tense up. "Why doesn't it matter? You said last timeline that it might be possible." You never thought that you'd be talking about kids with someone that you haven't even technically been on a real date with, but you might as well clear the air completely.

"as long as we're down here, you and frisk don't exist to the asgore, right? well, we can't have kids without his permission. every year there's essentially a lottery to have or extend a family. only a set few can and you have to enter you and your mate into it. it was gaster's idea."

Your eyebrows shoot up into your hairline. That's incredibly... Well, in every other way monsters had been more accepting and loving than any human you'd ever met so the government birth control was shocking.

"eh, i don't agree with it. i get it though. we're in a tiny ass cave – overpopulation is already an issue without it being controlled." It does make sense. "what i'm trying to say is... monster relationships are serious. we get serious quickly."

A few moments of easy silence stretch out between you. There's no more tension really. When Sans stands and offers you his hand, you accept it and are immediately pulled to your feet. He gently pulls at you, not saying a word, following the path that Paps and Frisk had taken before. His hand was still holding yours.

"So where does this leave us?" The nerves are back, the butterflies twisting in your belly.

Sans opens his mouth to tell you when a loud ringing erupts from his pocket. Fuck.

"hey paps can i-" You hear a loud yell, something about 'boondoggling', and a "GET HERE NOW, WE NEED YOU". You may be annoyed at the interruption, but Sans...Sans is livid.

"c'mon, apparently we're taking too long."

Once more into the void you go. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluff for all! I can't remember if I mentioned it already, but part two is going to be longer than part one for sure. We're building relationships here folks. ~~so when the drama hits we ALL have the feels.~~
> 
> I want to poll the audience for a second here. **Do you think that Asriel/Flowey can be believably saved for good?** I'm struggling with it. On one hand, he has no SOUL. On the other, SOUL or no SOUL he still possess the memory of what right vs wrong is and chose to ignore it repeatedly. 
> 
> Make my [tumblr](http://meg-rae29.tumblr.com/) fun please.


	28. Frisky Business

Of course it wasn't an emergency. The two had just gotten bored of waiting for you both within fifteen minutes. You had walked up on quite the sight – Papyrus was making a snowman in his likeness and Frisk was turning themselves into a snowman. For the love of god, why Frisk? Kids apparently didn't feel cold.

At least they didn't feel cold if a certain wingman skeleton was using his magic to keep them warm. You joined them in making snowmen ("No Frisk, I'm not helping you bury yourself"). When Sans fell asleep leaning into a snowpoff, the three of you joined forces to make him a snow mermaid tail. When he woke up, all three of you were pelted by magically aimed snowballs. Of course that meant war. From there, the rest of the afternoon had flown by.

It's magical nightfall when you and Frisk are back in the Inn. Frisk hadn't stopped smiling all afternoon. Now though, their smile was devious. You knew what was up instantly.

" _You and Sans? Why didn't you tell me?_ " Frisk is practically vibrating they were so excited.

"Tell you what?" You play dumb. "Get ready for bed kid." They pout, but listen to you. It's still odd to you that in two weeks, you'd essentially become responsible for a kid. They're a good kid at least. They also don't actually NEED you. They want you here with them for whatever reason and that's enough for you.

Ugh, look at you. All parental and shit.

Nah, you're totally the cool aunt or cousin.

When they patter out of the bathroom, you're both in pajamas. You go to brush your teeth while they 'scold' you for keeping secrets some more.

" _You should have told me!_ "

"We haven't even been on a date yet. There was nothing to tell you."

" _Uh-huh_ ," their voice is smug. " _That's not what it looked like_." You come out, sticking your tongue out at them.

When you lay down, you can feel their thoughts swimming around. "Slow your roll. I can practically hear you thinking." They blow a raspberry at you.

You're almost asleep, thinking about the events of the day with the butterflies still dancing in your belly, when Frisk whispers in your mind.

" _Why are you being so nice to me_?"

"Whaddya mean?" You should try and work on sounding more intelligent when you're this tired.

" _You know everything that I was apart of, but you treat me so nice. You treat me like..._ " Their voice trails off.

"Frisk," you say when your realize that they aren't going finish their thought. "It wasn't you that did all those things. It was Chara."

" _But it was my body. I should have been able to stop them. It's my fault that you and Sans haven't been on a date! That Sans is so sad! That everyone is still trapped here! That you died!_ "

You roll to face Frisk, sighing softly. "Frisk you can't keep blaming yourself for everything that has happened." They look away from you and sniffle loudly. They obviously disagree. "Look, Sans has had issues since before you fell. Have the resets helped? No. We haven't been on a date because sometimes adults are dumb with feelings. I died because Chara killed me. I don't see how anything is your fault. Especially everyone still being underground."

" _If I would just give up when Undyne or someone kills me they'd -_ "

"No. Don't say things like that. You've gotten them out before without dying. How?"

" _I... I don't remember. I know that Flowey attacks, but it's all fuzzy after that until I'm looking at the sunset_." Frisk, for being so young, sounds so bitter. They're angry, you realize. Angry for not having a choice in this. For not being able to remember everything. They're older than they look now. During the day, it's easy to forget.

At night, when you both know that you're about to see hellish images in your sleep, it's hard to forget.

"Look, I'll level with you Frisk. I'm only going to say this once so listen up. What you've done is screwed up. Playing with time itself? You're not a god. You've played with these peoples lives." Frisk is holding their breath now. "But you aren't evil. I believe you when you say that you're trying to save everyone. Your heart, or I guess SOUL in this place, is in the right place. You've been held hostage in your own body Frisk. I can't imagine what that's like."

"With knowing about Chara, no one blames you okay?" They don't say anything. Did you fuck up talking to them the way you did? They are still a child even if they've done some bad things. Then Frisk rolls over and hugs you. Maybe you didn't.

" _Thank you_."

A feeling of peace settles over you and you assume Frisk as well. Your eyes feel heavy again.

 

* * *

 

_Darkness. Static. Wind whipping around. The feeling of choking. Red eyes staring you down on the silhouette of a puppet. Your broken SOUL in front of you._

You snap awake, sitting up automatically. Fear is coursing through you – your heart and lungs are racing. There's a phantom pain in your chest. It's like you can feel the split in your SOUL. You glance to your side and Frisk is still there, fast asleep. They look peaceful so you don't disturb them.

After a few minutes of deep breathing (In: one, two, three, four; Out: five, six, seven, eight) the nightmare finally slips from the front of your mind. You try and go back to sleep, but every time you manage to you swear you hear laughter in the darkness.

* * *

 

 

You look and feel like hell. Your hair is a mess, your eyes are dull and dark circled, your throat hurts, your body aches, and you're beyond exhausted. Did you get anymore sleep last night? You honestly don't know.

Frisk had just left you on the cliff where the monster in the cliff is (Monsters? One multi-eyed monster?) to save Papyrus from you. Or you from Papyrus. You weren't sure at this point. All you did know was that you felt like garbage and when Frisk had approached you about going to find Undyne today you may have snapped at them a bit.

You'll apologize later. The peace and quiet is nice.

There's the feeling of Sans cutting through the void less than ten minutes after Frisk left. You really want to be alone in your misery. Should you ask him to leave? Deep breath in -ugh, your nose is getting congested. Are you getting sick? Wait. You know that smell.

"'morning. frisk told me to watch out so i brought you a peace offering in advance." You sniffle in a breath again – coffee. Sans had brought you coffee. "i remember how happy you were that alphys had some before."

You finally look at him – he looks relaxed, holding out a mug towards you. If he thinks you look rough, he doesn't show it. "Thank you Sans," you rasp out as you take the mug. Now he does show some concern.

He joins you, sitting on the small cliff with you, you just savoring the little bit of it that you could smell. "what's wrong? you sound odd." Oh boy, time for a human biology lesson. You quickly (and quietly) give Sans the run down of what being sick meant in a human. "that's normal?" His sockets are wide when you finish explaining. You chuckle and nod. It must be nice to never get sick.

"never been so thankful for being a monster before. drink up, theoretically it should help heal you faster." You sign a quick thank you to Sans, hand moving from your chin downward while you drink some coffee with your other hand. "anytime."

You feel the warmth of the magic hidden in the coffee start working right away. Magic was awesome. You could probably lean on Sans and take a nap right here. Wonder if he would mind...

"uh, you listening?" You jump. No, no you had not been.

"No, sorry. I had a – I didn't sleep well last night."

"You had a nightmare too, huh?" Fuck, you were hoping he wouldn't catch that.

"I've had nightmares since the reset. It didn't end well for me," you admit. "The Inn arrangement works both ways for Frisk and I. If we know the other is safe, we don't freak out."

"i know we talked to grillby yesterday about what went down in the lab, but you never said what happened on your end." It's not a demand to tell him.

You lick your lips. He's going to find out one way or the other, so you might as well tell him the big part. You put your cup down and twist to face him, pulling your jacket and shirt out of the way to show the scar over your heart. He says nothing, but his sockets narrow.

"Chara stopped possessing Frisk and came out of them. There was some talking, but the point is they stabbed me. I died." Your mind wanders to the Delta Rune on your neck and to the crack down your SOUL. Not today. Those are problems for another day, a day when you're feeling up to science babble. 

"i'm sorry," he finally says. You put your scar away and pick your coffee back up. "so i read the note you put in the back of my journal."

You giggle. "What, didn't want my address and where I work? A phone call would have been weird from a guy I didn't know." He blushes slightly, glancing at you.

"you'd really want to hear from me if the barrier actually fell?"

"Duh. I actually like you in case you hadn't noticed Sans." You feel your face heating up and not from a fever. He's looking at you like he can't believe what he's hearing which isn't helping your blushing problem, so you look out over Snowdin's forest. "As in, I like you. Who you are. Not just because you've been kind of nice to me since I've been trapped here." You take a deep breath. "You asked about my date yesterday. Paps was playing wingman for you."

"hey ----." He sounds nervous and when you look over at him, just like yesterday, he's sweating and fiddling with the snow on the ground. "i didn't get to answer you yesterday. well i like you a _latte_. would you, uh, wanna go on a real date sometime?" He's bright blue and flustered when he finishes talking.

He asked you out. You feel the stupid grin on your face even though your brain has short circuited. He looks so hopeful and you can't help but to think that it's a good look for him.

"Well, since you managed to _espresso_ your feelings so nicely – I'd love to."

You have matching grins now.

"puns. goddamned puns." He's mumbling to himself. "where have you _bean_ all my life?"

You snort out laughing, feeling much better and freer than you had before.

* * *

 

“No Frisk, you aren't just going to go into Waterfall by yourself.” Frisk had waited until that night to try again. They'd clearly figured that they’d try to take advantage of your good mood. They scowl at you.

“ _I've done it before_.”

“I know. How many times have you died?” You decide to be blunt. If Frisk wants to be a petulant child, you'll treat them like one.

“ _I'm too determined to die._ ”

“Frisk.” You pinch the bridge of your nose. “I've been think about that for a while. What if you can't load without Chara?”

Their eyes go wide. Frisk clearly hadn't thought of that. You almost feel bad for just blurting it out like you did.

“ _I've been SAVING a lot. I could load my most recent one_.” You don't even scold them – they lost steam in the middle of their thought. “ _I promised not to mess with time though…_ ”

Sans had made them promise as part of their truce with him – no messing with time just for kicks. They'd eagerly agreed.

“What's the hurry Frisk? Do you, uh, miss your family?” You've never asked about their family before. Jesus you're an asshole.

“ _I don't have one._ ” They don't say anything else.

“Shit Frisk, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that.” Good job ----. You really are an asshole. Way to end a good day. “If you ever want to talk about it...”

“ _I don't remember them at all. They “lost custody” of me when I was little. That's what the lady at the home told me anyway._ ” Jesus. Frisk didn't have a family.

“Not all parents are fit to be parents. It's nothing to do with you kiddo. Besides, family can be whoever you want.” They look thoughtful at that.

“ _Can you be my family?_ ” Your heart skips a beat for a second. There's so much hurt in that little voice.

“Of course.”

“ _Sister._ ” They seem to test the word with you. “ _Older sister._ ”

Tears prickle, blurring your vision and honestly startle you. Falling down here had been the best thing to happen to you. Even with the danger. Frisk wasn't the only one that gained a family down here. You want the rest of yours back,but...

“Look, Undyne’s dangerous. I know you've beaten her before without harming her. But she's killed you and nearly killed me. We need to be smart about it, okay?”

Frisk leans into you. “ _Okay._ ”

Family.

"Now come on little sibling, go take a shower. My butt was freezing just from watching yours in the snow earlier."

You don't miss the giant grin on their face as they scamper away from you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Consensus says that I can't just have Flowey take a Blaster beam to the face. I do have some more ideas on how to do it now so thank you all!
> 
> Speaking of Blasters, next chapter Reader totally gets to pet at least one. Between KateMcHughGorman's Blasters (check out Bones and Drabbles for some absolutely precious Blasters) and [this comic](http://wilyart.tumblr.com/post/137719649201/if-anyone-is-confused-on-what-that-thing-is-see%22), I have a mighty need for sentient Blasters.


	29. Gaster Blaster Master

A week later and your first official date with Sans still hadn't happened yet. It wasn't that either of you were putting it off per say. You were just at an impasse – Sans didn't want Frisk alone with Papyrus knowing that the two of you were far off and you didn't want to leave Frisk alone at night. Their night terrors were calming down into nightmares and were starting to slow down, but you still weren't comfortable with leaving them. Plus there was always the chance that Frisk would go dashing into Waterfall the first chance they got. It's not that you didn't trust them either exactly - you just know that they are a crafty little creature.

 

Neither of you blamed the other, but it was frustrating. Stolen kisses could only get you so far when you both wanted to know if this could be more.

 

You and Frisk are just coming back from a workout with Papyrus (no SOUL practice – with Sans actually being interested in you and making a move, Paps refused to touch your SOUL) when you find Sans napping in your bed. Both you and Frisk (mostly you) are sweaty and gross and you'd been really looking forward to just flopping into the bed while Frisk showered but nooooo.

The lazy skeleton popped open an eye socket at you and Frisk.

“fancy seeing you two here.”

“ _Sans._ ” You almost snort out laughing at the fact that you and Frisk both said his name at the exact same time in the same tone.

“what? you guys can't get naked like me. Unless you decide to go _bare bones_ you're still wearing clothes to me.” You both groan.

“Sans, no puns before we shower. Frisk – shower, now.” You stare down the skeleton until you hear Frisk get into the shower. “So what I just heard was that you want to peel my skin off.”

“no!”

“Sans. You can't just pop in like this.” You'd talked about this with him. Any human would have an issue with having someone being able to just pop into their room, but with Frisk it was incredibly important that he not. You knew some of Frisk's nightmares were about him and that, after one of them, Frisk would be on edge around Sans. If he popped in when Frisk was still on edge from one, you know it wouldn't go well.

“I know. It’s a special occasion though.” You raise an eyebrow. “Paps and kiddo are having a movie day. _You_ are coming with me.”

You try and fail at looking annoyed. Apparently you're finally getting that date. You hear the shower cut off.

“What should I wear?”

“well, we’ll be in public so probably clothes.” You try and glare, but Sans’ flirting makes it impossible. “what you usually wear will work.” Frisk comes out of the bathroom fully dressed. They never do that.

This had been planned.

“And how long have _you_ known about this?” You throw in some mock anger, knowing your grin will keep them from taking you serious.

They giggle. “ _Since last night. Have fun! I'll be watching Mettaton movies with Paps!_ ” With that, they're out the door.

“Well I need to shower before we go anywhere. Gimme a minute.”

“want some company?”

“Nope!” You pop the “p”. Poor skeleton looks heartbroken as you strip on your way to the bathroom. “I was sore afterwards last time. Running through New Home was fucking miserable so I don't want to take any chances.”

Sans barks out a laugh and you feel the white pinpricks on you as you step in the shower. “Don't be a creep Sans.”

“i would never.” No, the teleporting skeleton would never be creepy. Your roll your eyes and this time you bark out a laugh as you shower as fast as you can.

Poor Sans nearly dies when you came out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel. You’d heard the sharp intake of breath when you'd came out and instead of the lewd staring – he's staring pointedly at the ceiling.

“can't look at you,” he explains. “have this whole romantic thing planned out and you're trying to ruin it.” You get dressed quickly at that. When you announce you're ready, he looks at you and winks. “it's still hard to look at you.”

Your turn bright red as you and him make your way downstairs and out the door, holding hands, before he pulls you into the void.

You touch down in Waterfall. You'd forgotten how beautiful this place was. Gems glimmer in the walls, on the ceiling, and even some beneath your feet; all of them like beacons in the darkness. You'd been here before, but it had been a quick run through with Undyne. You'd never actually just explored Waterfall.

Sans gives you a second before gently pulling you over to the side of the room. Was that a telescope? Why was there a telescope?

"in your letters, you said you didn't know me," he explains. "i didn't get it at first 'cause i thought you knew me and i knew you. then i tried to plan a date. we don't know the little details about each other do we?" You giggle out a "guess not" while you try to imagine Sans stressing out over a date.

"so i want to get to know you and," he smiles shyly before mumbling out, "i want you to know me." He sits down on the ground leaning against wall and gently pulls you down to sit between his legs. He play with the telescope for a second, hand running over the eyepiece, before he lets you look.

It's beautiful and you tell him so. The gems shimmer and twinkle, a rainbow of color, as you move the telescope around. You try to imagine there being constellations. After a minute, Sans starts to talk again.

"this is the closest thing we have to stars down here. i've always wanted to know about space since it's the one part of science that i can't study i guess."

"It's close, but it's not the same. Stars are mostly a white-ish yellow color. Stars twinkle in the atmosphere and planets don't. You don't see this many stars in the city – you would have to go out in the country to see stars like this." You pause, thinking about what to say. "Looking up at the stars... It makes you feel small in a good way."

He sighs behind you, pulling you towards him. He's went and conjured up himself a torso for you to lean against. For whatever reason, the small gesture is incredibly sweet. It's peaceful to just be in the moment alone with him.

"tell me about you. please? i don't know much about your life before this."

When you tell him your story, it dawns on you how alike you both are in some ways. He'd gone to doing odd jobs to avoid thinking about his old life with his dad and you'd starting waitressing as a way to try and get your life back together. You tell him about how you, after leaving your ex, had decided to take another year off after getting your associate's degree before you tried to pick what you actually wanted to do. You talk about your little one bedroom apartment, petless because of your lease, about your hobbies. You just paint him a broad picture.

"how old are you?" You wondered when Sans would ask. He sounds curious, not judgemental.

"It's rude to ask a lady her age or weight," you tease him. "How old are YOU?"

You feel his snicker more than you hear it. "old. maybe i'm like three-hundred. what would you do then?"

"Leave," you keep your voice teasingly. "If Grillby's eight-hundred years old and still a total child, I'm not taking an chances." To avoid actually hurting his feelings, you lean back and press a kiss to his jaw.

He laughs. "i'm not that old. i think i'm," he pauses for a second. "sorry haven't thought about it recently. i think i'm twenty-six? maybe twenty-eight? resets make it weird and gaster wasn't big on birthdays to begin with. i actually picked my own."

You are close in age, which despite everything is sort of a relief, and you tell him yours. You make a mental note to ask him about his birthday later. The two of you just talk for what feels like ages. Hopes, dreams, hobbies (you make Sans promise to show you his 'self-sustaining trash tornado' soon, you have got to see that) - anything and everything under the sun. Er, ground.

"Should we be worried about Undyne?" The thought finally hits you. If she walks up on you two, it won't be good.

"nah. she's in new home today meeting with asgore. you getting hungry sweetheart?" You're blushing again at the pet name.

"I could eat." You shrug.

"ok. first, there's a few friends i want you to meet."

* * *

 

Before you leave, Sans has to redraw the red outline on the telescope. Dick move.

"So you charge the poor passerby to look at your telescope?" 

"yep."

"And there's always a chance that it has goop on the eye piece?"

"yep."

"Asshole."

When he turns back to you, he almost looks nervous again.

"so, uh, let me know if this is uncomfortable at any point, will ya?" When he wraps an arm around your waist this time and tells you not to close your eyes, you're very confused. There's the pull of the void and – you stop. Holy shit. You feel like you've swallowed water for a second –and god you want to panic so bad suddenly – before it's over.

"you ok? we can go." You feel him tense his arm.

"I'm good." He's eyeing you, looking to see if you're lying, before he grins. He gives his fingers a snap and suddenly, you aren't alone. Holy shit.

What the ever loving fuck are...? Are these the Gaster Blasters?

He laughs at the look on your face. It's a good natured laugh, you think, but you can't be sure because you can't take your eyes off the giant skulls. They look like what you think a dragon skull would look like. None of them have opened their maws, which you think you could probably fit in one if they did, but you could see sharp fangs poking out. Several pairs of eyes stare at you.

How many of them are there? You see at least eight.

"these are the blasters. there's more of 'em in here, but these are the ones that gaster trained." Holy shit. Sans holds out the hand that isn't latched on your waist, and one of them comes up and nuzzles it. "you go in the void with me so much that, well, they wanted to meet you."

The one under his hand looks at you. You feel a spark of fear when it chirps. "she wants to say sorry for scaring you when you met me the first time." If he sounds confused, then you're lost. She? She wants to say sorry? You're lost. "this is the one that i started to pull out of the void when i first met you. she knows that you sensed her." 

Oh.

Slowly, you raise your hand towards it –her, you correct yourself, her- and she carefully moves towards you and places her snout under your hand. Like Sans, she's warm – you can feel the magic in her. She chirps again, which calls the others over to you. Carefully, you pet the others as well.

By the end of it all the Blasters, save what you think is the alpha, are vying for your attention again. You hear Sans snort beside you. "alright guys, we gotta go." A chorus of heart melting chirps and whines follows this. For looking so frightening, they're kind of sweet.

"nope. not a chance. i'll bring you guys some grub later." You can't even say bye before the pulling feeling resumes and you're back in that hidden area of Waterfall where Sans took you when you snuck into the area. He'd set up a picnic.

* * *

 

The afternoon had been absolutely perfect. Sans had brought Grillby's with him (oh you'd forgotten just how GOOD the burgers were) and had also made some sort of tart for dessert. You weren't asking questions on what it was exactly – it had been delicious. The two of you actually didn't say much during your little picnic, but it wasn't an awkward silence. It was easy, relaxed.

When you both go home maybe only four hours or so after you left, you join Paps and Frisk in their movie marathon, your hands still wrapped together. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Frisk elbow Papyrus and nod towards you. The two share a smile, clearly proud of themselves for this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More fluff for all! Reader FINALLY has their date.


	30. Storm Incoming

To your surprise (and relief) not much changed after your date with Sans. That night at the brothers for dinner proved it. You'd been almost prepared for awkwardness of some sort after a 'real' date, but there was none.

You're in the kitchen, chopping up some vegetables, when Sans sneaks up behind you. You nearly scream when Sans wraps his arms around your waist from behind with a whispered "boo".

"Jesus fucking Christ. SANS." He chuckles in your ear.

"whatcha making?"

"Food," you grouse, picking the knife back up.

You feel him watching you chop with the knife from over your shoulder. He's tensed up for whatever reason, before he heaves a big sigh and relaxes.

"sorry. you're not the one that came after me with a knife, but, uh, still not comfortable seeing a human holding one." You don't say anything until you're done chopping, when you slowly put the knife down and push it out of reach.

"You need to get use to it. When you're on the surface, it'll be normal to see. We can't have you all tense and shit whenever you go out to eat." You try to joke with him, but he doesn't bite. In fact, he looks more upset as he lets go of you and hops up on the counter. Shit. You decide to keep cooking, he'll talk when he's ready.

It doesn't take long.

"you still planning on getting yourself killed to free us?" You freeze in the middle of what you're doing. You knew this was coming, but not after an, quite honestly, awesome date.

"I never was planning on it, per say." His sockets narrow into a glare. "What? Look dude, I was just trying to keep Undyne from running a spear through me for asking her to take me to Alphys. It was in case we couldn't figure out a way to use my SOUL without killing me."

Sans glare relaxes, he's still unhappy with you from the look of it. You start back up on dinner, giving him time to think. You'll be damned if you apologize for wanting to help free them. The kitchen is quiet as you wait for the water to boil.

"did you guys make any progress?" He sounds curious, not angry, to your surprise.

You shrug your shoulders, pasta starting to soften in the pot. "I'm not sure. Alphys seemed to learn a lot, but I don't know about progress towards breaking the barrier." You don't mention your unique SOUL. For whatever reason, you're ashamed of the crack in it. Something tells you to keep it private.

"do you want me to take you to alphys?" You look up from watching water boil to gawk at him. Is he serious? You figured this would be a fight eventually. You really want to take him up on it, but the thought of Undyne stops you. She'd probably break if she wasn't there when you met Alphys. You wanted them to be happy together, not driven further apart.

So no.

"I'll talk to Frisk," you lie by omission.

"can you just do me one favor? can you not use the dt extractor again?" You thought you couldn't be more shocked. He laughs humorlessly at the look on your face. "that thing is bad news. it worked out for you with grillby, i know, just... it's not like we've have many humans to test that thing on." He's lying. You don't have room to call him it.

"I think I can do that."

He sighs like a huge weight has been lifted off his shoulders. "thank you." Dinner's almost done, but you can spare a second to comfort him. You quickly make your way between his legs, and going on to the tips of your toes, kiss him on the cheek. When you go to back away, he stops you.

There's a few seconds of nothing, but then you feel his lips on yours. You melt into him. When you pull apart, way too soon in your opinion, you have to immediately pull the pasta off the heat. It looks like you didn't burn anything...

"Feel better Sans?" He nods, watching you with an affectionate gleam in his eyes. You make your way back over to him, hands on either side of his hips, and throw an absolutely wicked grin on your face.

"I'm glad! Hip," you pinch his left hip lightly, "hip," you repeat your action on the right side, "hooray!" His cheekbones are bright blue now.

"you," he's practically growling under his breath at you.

"DINNER!" You shout out for Frisk and Papyrus.

"tease," he whispers.

You know you'll pay for that later. Worth it.

* * *

 

You're separating leftovers when Frisk and Papyrus (who has deemed you his pasta coach) go to set up a movie night. You can hear them bickering over what to watch from here.

"you," he growls in your again. You can't hold back your giggle. All during dinner he'd randomly flush blue. It wasn't until you saw it the third time that you realize that pinching the wings of his pelvis was probably the equivalent of someone grabbing your ass. Someone that you had been hoping to get alone for a while grabbing your ass.

Oh you are so not sorry. His arms are on the counter, locking you in place.

"you are in so much trouble." He nips at the junction where your neck meets your shoulder, before tracing the tip of his tongue up your neck. You shiver.

"Is this supposed to make me be sorry? Or make me regret doing it? If so, it's really not working."

"no." He goes back down your neck before he bites you. Arousal floods you. "just want us on an even playing field." What a dick. You grab the pan that still has dinner in it before spinning around and pushing it at his chest.

"You're a jerk," you grumble. "This is for the Blasters. You promised them food, right?" The hunger on his face instantly falls off –disappointment floods you for a second- and is replaced by something different. Desire maybe?

"HUMAN! SANS! WE'VE DECIDED ON A MOVIE! PLEASE HURRY, FRISK IS GETTING IMPATIENT."

"you're something else," he says as his eyes scan you. "i'd take you with me, but i don't want you spending that much time in the void in one day." He kisses you once before he pulls away and is gone.

You giggle to yourself. "You guys want me to cook up some popcorn?"

Two very loud "PLEASE"s erupt from the living room.

* * *

 

Sans is back right as you and Frisk snuggle up with Papyrus. Rather than all cramming onto the couch, Papyrus had decided to take all the pillows in the house (seriously, all of them. Possibly a few from a neighbor's house too) and make a giant "bed" on the floor. You're propped up on pillows, Frisk between your legs, and Papyrus is to your left. He just snorts before he settles on your other side.

"Why is the human trapped?" You jokingly frown.

"BECAUSE THE HUMAN," Papyrus grins wickedly, "IS ALWAYS IGNORING METTATON'S FILMS. SO NOW YOU HAVE TO PAY ATTENTION!"

You snort before you swoon onto Sans. "Curses! I've been found out!" It's not that you actively seek to ignore Mettaton's movies... It's just that they are **that** bad.

"NYEH HEH HEH!"

" _Shhh it's starting_."

All three of you giggle at Frisk. You peel yourself mostly off of Sans, deciding to just lean against him. He throws his arm around your shoulders and leans against you, drawing circles on your shoulder.

"they say thank you," he whispers.

"SHUSH!"

* * *

 

When you open your eyes again – after closing them because your eyes had rolled back so far into your head it hurt at Mettaton's poorly delivered robotic "I'll be back"- it's midnight and you're in the middle of a pile of limbs. Sans, Papyrus, and Frisk are all cuddled around you. Your SOUL gives a little jump of happiness while your body groans in discomfort.

Frisk is completely limp on your front, dead weight on your chest and, more importantly, your bladder. Sans is drooling on your right shoulder and Papyrus is snoring lightly on your left. If you didn't have to pee, you'd let everyone stay where they were.

You wiggle your shoulders experimentally.

"Sans," you hiss under your breath. "Sans. Sans, up!"

"'on't wake him ----." Shit. You hadn't meant to wake Papyrus up. Papyrus sits up, his own bones cracking as he looks at you still partially buried. "He doesn't sleep well very often." Papyrus stands, gently pulling his brother off of you. You watch him, burning this into your memory. Sans is passed out still, limp in his younger brothers arms. It warms you down to your core.

You watch as Paps goes up the stairs –man, Sans is out cold- and takes Sans into his room. When he comes back down, he pulls Frisk up. You go to grab Frisk when he shakes his head. "The Great Papyrus shall escort you both home."

Frisk doesn't wake up at any point of your trip. They sleep through the snow, going into the bright lobby, going upstairs, and being put down into bed.

"Thanks Paps," you say once your outside of your room again.

"Anything for the two of you! How'd your real date go?"

"Fantastic, you were right. He's great."

"I hope that, based on how snuggly you two were, that there will be another one?"

"I want there to be. Any ideas on what I can do for him Paps?" Papyrus yawns. "I'm sorry, you're tired. Go home and get some sleep."

He pulls you into a quick hug, saying that he'll give you some ideas tomorrow. You wave him off before slipping back into your room and crawling into bed, still dressed.

You fall asleep with a smile on your face.

* * *

 

Morning comes and you wake up, the echo of static filled laughter in your head. When you try to place where you've heard it before, the memory of it slips from your fingers like sand. By the time you're dressed to train with Papyrus and Frisk, all you can remember is that you had a nightmare.

* * *

 

" _Why are we doing this again_?" Frisk is panting beside you.

"Because I hate myself," you grumble as Papyrus turns to yell at you two to get moving again. "No, because this probably saved us all when I had to run through New Home to get to Sans." You have to keep the mantra of ' _this saved me_ ' going as you feel your hamstrings whine. Running in the snow sucks.

"TINY HUMAN, YOU MAY REST! SHORT HUMAN, PUSH-UPS!" You do groan at this one.

"Paps, the snow is cold!"

"UNDYNE AGREES, BUT SHE POWERS THROUGH IT AS HER PASSION TO BE STRONG IS HOTTER THAN THE SNOW." Papyrus drops into the snow and you follow suit. "TEN TO START WITH."

"Fuck me."

" _Language sister!_ " Shit, you didn't realize you'd said that out loud. You'd asked Frisk to let you know when you swore around them so you could try and curb it, not realizing how much they'd enjoy the task. When your ten push-ups are done, you chuck a snowball in Frisk's general direction.

"PERHAPS WE SHOULD WORK ON YOUR AIM TOMORROW." Papyrus laughs out. You throw a snowball at him too.

"So Paps, you train with Undyne too?" 

"YES! WITH HER, I PRACTICE WITH OUR MAGIC AS WELL."

"That sounds awesome," you say, meaning it. "I was wondering... since Frisk and I are going to be here a while, if you could introduce me?" You see Frisk's head snap towards the two of you. Frisk had known that you had an idea for getting into Waterfall, but you hadn't told them what that idea was. Papyrus had told you to come to him during the last timeline so you were counting on him feeling the same now. 

"I.. ER, I WOULD BUT UNDYNE WOULDN'T TAKE TOO KINDLY TO YOU BEING HUMAN RIGHT NOW." He sounds on edge.

"Papyrus, she won't ever take me being a human well." You don't want to make Papyrus uncomfortable, but you need to see her first. "I think she'd take it better if you could vouch for me though."

"NORMALLY I'D AGREE WITH YOU, BUT SOMEONE MENTIONED THAT THERE WAS A HUMAN IN THE RUINS A FEW WEEKS AGO. THE CANINE UNIT DIDN'T FIND ANYTHING AND SHE'S STILL WORKED UP OVER IT." He shrugs "SHE'LL GET OVER IT SOONER OR LATER AND I'LL INTRODUCE YOU THEN!" He looks apologetic and you can feel the small bit of annoyance towards him cool. He's just trying to keep you safe, to introduce you under the right circumstances. If the roles were reversed, you'd do the same for him. 

* * *

 

When you get back to the Inn, the Bunny sisters are behind the desk chatting.

“Hiya ---! Hiya Frisk! How was your workout with Papyrus?” Bunny the Rabbit (when she'd introduced herself as that this time, you'd barely been able to hold in your laughter) calls out when you walk in the door. The innkeeper was the absolute kindest woman. Gossipy, yes; but it didn't make her any less kind. Despite the fact that there's two of you this time around, your rent is even cheaper than before. She even brought real breakfast for the two of you from time to time. That combined with the fact that Tori had really padded your pockets this time... Well, you didn't need to worry about working for a few more months at least. 

“ _Hey! Sis, can I go shower?_ ”

“Go ahead,” you say, tossing Frisk your room key. “It was rough. What's going on girls?”

“Not much yet.” Felicia, the shopkeeper, answers. “Asgore will be here in three days to kick off our semi-annual snowstorm.”

Asgore? Snowstorm? Fuck.

"As much as I love having you and your little sibling as guests, you may want to stay with those friends of yours," Bunny says. "It would be good to have access to a kitchen unless you want to live off cinnamon rolls for a few days."

You should be scared by the thought of Asgore visiting, but you're hung up on the thought of a sleepover and the vague memory of how it had felt to be with Sans. 

"As good as that those cinnamon buns are, I'll see about taking my chances with the spaghetti monster." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What kind of pasta did your Reader make? Mine made [this](http://www.mastercook.com/app/recipe/WebRecipeDetails?recipeId=1689665), which I can't recommend enough. LEFTOVERS FOR DAYS. Is delicious as is, or throw in some scallops or grilled chicken. NOM.


	31. Why Define 'Us'?

That night, Sans and Papyrus both ask you and Frisk to stay for the duration of the semi-annual event. While Frisk and Papyrus are planning a "Super Mega Fun Sleepover Extravaganza" to begin in three nights, Sans explains the reason why there's a blizzard underground.

"asgore feels bad for us not having weather. so a few times a year he'll try and give us the illusion of weather by using his magic. simple stuff – rain in waterfall and new home and snow here. nothing for hotland though."

"That sounds like it takes a lot of magic."

"it does, but asgore is strong. he'll just come by, do some rounds, and cast it to last a few days." He leans a little closer to you. "i'm kind of excited, it's been years since i've seen him cast one. it's cool to see all the replenished snow after one."

You raise an eyebrow at him. That's all he's excited for? There are only two beds and god only knows that Frisk isn't going to be snuggling up with him... Or maybe he expects the two of you to snuggle up on the couch or floor? Or will the four of you just be a pile of limbs in the living room? Eh, you'll cross that bridge when you get to it.

"Sounds pretty awesome. What's the plan for Asgore coming into town by the way?"

"you two will hang out in my lab for a bit. when he's gone, i'll pop in and bring you both inside. bring all your stuff over and tell the rabbits that you'll be in waterfall for the day."

" _\---- have you ever seen a blizzard before?_ "Frisk interrupts the serious talk.

"Nope, sure haven't kiddo. Especially not a magical one before."

" _It's going to be so COOL!_ "

"FRISK! YOU DIDN'T." Papyrus sounds so affronted. OH. You crack up. Confusion covers their face, wide brown eyes looking lost peer over at you causing you snort. Sans didn't catch the pun.

"'It's going to be so cool?' Seriously? I'm proud." You barely manage spit it out between your laughter. Sans catches on.

"good one kid!"

" _I didn't mean it!_ "

"sure you did. it only takes one good pun to break the _ice_." At the look on Frisk's face, even Papyrus breaks into laughter.

* * *

 

The next morning is a tough workout from Paps. It must be punishment for you and Sans' onslaught of puns and jokes after Frisk's unintentional one, well, broke the ice. When Papyrus finally announces that you're done, you collapse in the snow, snow-angel style.

"I'm not sorry!" 

"NYEH HEH HEH! YOU WILL BE AFTER TOMORROW'S WORKOUT SINCE WE WELL NEED TO TAKE A FEW DAYS OFF AFTER THAT!" You should really learn to shut your face sometimes.

" _You should be sorry_ ,"Frisk grumbles in your head. " _You and Sans are gross_." You hadn't quite been forgiven for last night yet. 

"You're gross." Frisk mistakenly wanders too close – you grab the child and run your fingers down their sides. They're so ticklish.

" _\----! No fair!_ "

"Watch that sass, kiddo." You stop, grinning as they go butt first into a snow poff.

"FRISK, IT LOOKS LIKE YOU COULD USE SOME ADDITIONAL TRAINING. WOULD YOU LIKE TO WORK ON SOME SELF-DEFENSE STUFF BEFORE WORKING ON MY PUZZLES WITH ME?" Papyrus is grinning, but something seems off about it. He's up to something.

" _Please!_ "

"VERY WELL! ----, YOU SHOULD ASK MY BROTHER TO TEACH YOU AS WELL. FOR NOW, GO HOME AND RELAX. I'LL TAKE CARE OF FRISK." Papyrus looks at you and winks.

What on earth?

* * *

 

Sans is waiting for you back in the inn. Seeing him sitting on your bed makes you jump. Having someone sitting on your bed when you aren't expecting them still brings up some bad memories. You promptly squash them down.

"Jesus Sans, again? What the fuck?"

Sans looks confused. "paps said you wanted me to train you?" You stare at him, shaking your head slowly. What the fuck is going – Oh. That sneaky sneaky wingman. You chuckle.

"Your brother is the best wingman," you say, grinning at Sans. "He took Frisk for a bit to give us some time alone." Sans goes from looking confused to positively thrilled.

"i need to finish up some notes in my workshop first," his grin is positively predatory as the white pupils in his sockets drag over you. "after that, how about a look at that trash tornado?"

"Is that supposed to be a pick-up line?" You raise an eyebrow at him.

"not to good at those, i know. i'm willing to learn so long as you're willing to _bone_." You snort as he winks. "go take a shower babe, i'll wait for you."

You make a big show of grabbing your clothes and taking them into the bathroom with you. "Hey Sans, is that a mirror in your pocket?"

"no?" 

"Aw, too bad. I thought I could see myself in your pants," you say with a wink before you shut the bathroom door. You're rewarded with the sound of laughter.

* * *

 

When you finish your shower, he's moved to laying on your bed. One of your favorite things about this new arrangement with Sans is that the mask he wears for almost everyone else disappears around you. There's a warmth that you've discovered that comes from him, that makes the very fiber of your being tingle when he's near you. It's a nice feeling to say the least.

Sans' sockets are closed when you walk out (you still stand firmly behind your opinion that skeleton monsters are weird), but he peeks one open after a second.

"Whatcha working on?" Since his nights are spent with you for the most part, you know that he'd started doing his... whatever it is he actually does in his lab during the day. You hadn't seen any experiments when you'd been in his workshop last, but who knows what Sans actually got up to?

"so i teleported here since my brother told me it was urgent, so i'll meet you there." He lazily lifts a hand towards you, ignoring your question. You're expecting a whoopee cushion when you walk over to him, not the silver object in between his fingers. A key?

"it works as a key for my shop and my room," he says, eyes focused firmly on the ceiling. "i just figured that you should have one."

"Sans," you whisper out. You're shocked to say the least. Sans is such a private person - this is so unexpected that your mind is blown. "I can give it back once I'm -"

"no." He cuts you off vehemently. "i want you to have it. i know that humans move slower than monsters and i plan on trying to go slower for you, but after everything we've been through... this is serious for me. i want you to know it." You take the key, heart pounding in your chest, speechless. "see you in a bit."

He's gone.

You spend a minute pulling yourself together. You hadn't been expecting that - the sign of commitment so soon. Your hands are shaking as you add the key to the chain around your neck for the time being. It's awkwardly heavy, you won't be forgetting about the Delta Rune around your neck any time soon that's for sure, but the absolute trust it represents shakes you to your core. 

You need to talk to him about the two of you, no matter how awkward it may be. You let the feeling of determination settle in your SOUL.

* * *

 

You step into Sans' workshop, putting the necklace back around your neck as you lock the door behind you. You keep your feelings locked down. You need to know something. Sans is on that bean bag chair of his sweating bullets as he jots something down in a notebook.

"look, if you don't want it -"

"I need to know something first Sans," you cut him off this time. "Do you only like me because I'm different? Since I'm still a new piece of this puzzle?" You weren't going to press this issue this soon, this little nagging doubt in the back of your mind, but with him offering you as much as he was... You had to.

Sans looks positively insulted. "fuck no."

"Are you sure? I just don't want to be a shiny new toy to play with." Sans looks downright pissed now.

"' _am I sure?'_ goddammit, yes. i'd been working up the nerve to tell you all about this timeline bullshit before chara came through last time." He takes a deep breath, clearly trying to calm himself down. "look, i already asked myself that. did you being new draw me to you originally? yes. it's not just that. i like you for you. i'm interested in you because you're you." You recognize your words being thrown back at you as well as the sincerity in them.

When Sans' finishes, he just stares warily at you. You slowly make your way over to him, looking to see if he's telling the truth. When you drop to your knees by his feet, he sits up. If you didn't know him so well, you'd think he was trying to be intimidating. Slowly, you lean forward to kiss the spot between his sockets, right above his nasal cavity. That small gesture seems to relax him.

"It just surprised me Sans. You're such a private guy and I didn't want you to feel like you had to let me keep it. I would give it back if you wanted me to. Still will, if you want." When you lean forward this time, he finds your mouth with his. He even follows you when you pull back. "Just so you know, you don't have to try and just follow human customs. I don't know monster ones either so... Tell me the ones that are important to you and...There hasn't been a relationship like ours in centuries. Let's just figure this out together, how we want to."

"i like the sound of that." He reaches out his hands grasping at your arms, eyes never leaving your face to make sure that everything is fine, before he pulls you towards him for another kiss. When you feel his tongue touch your lips you grin. Why not have a little fun? You deny him, pulling away, but not before you gently suck on his bottom lip for a second.

You're reward with him shuddering, a sound that makes his bones sound like they're rattling. "what was that?" His voice is deep, husky already. A plan formulates in your mind. You might not have any ideas for a date yet, but you could rattle his bones a bit if he wants you to.

"What's what?" You make sure that the innocence in your voice sounds insincere before you kiss him. You don't deny him this time, but this time you decide to suck on his tongue after a minute. He pulls back with a small moan and another shudder. "I'm sorry, you were working on something, weren't you?"

He looks disappointed for all of a second before he hides it. Don't worry Sans. You don't know how he can’t see through you when you sit next to him on the chair, but he doesn't it. This might be fun. He starts writing again and you let him start to slip back into science mode before you make your move. Leaning over, you start to pepper kisses on his jawline. He sighs, leaning into you.

When he relaxes into you, like a cobra, you strike.

Seamlessly, you move to one of the vertebrae in his neck and nip at it. He freezes mid pen-stroke and gives a low moan. Yes! You hadn't been a hundred percent sure that this would do anything, but after his reaction to having you touch his hips you were hopeful. Encouraged, you lightly suck on it and he moves to give you better access.

"ngh... whaddya doing?" He sounds dazed already to your great delight.

"Payback," you coo. "I seem to remember a time when I couldn't touch you but you could touch me and I want to return the favor." He shivers and you pull away for a second. "Is that okay or do you want me to stop?"

He looks embarrassed, his cheekbones a bright blue. "i... i do. just... are you sure?" You stare blankly at him. Are you sure? Psh. "i've never had anyone want to return the favor before," he finally admits. "skeleton monsters are even hard for monsters i guess." Oh. That explains it. The poor guy had never had anyone just touch him before apparently. Or if they had, it'd been quick and just going through the motions. You've been there before and it sucks.

"I've never been more sure. If you're uncomfortable with anything, let me know." Seeing the look on his face, you continue. "I want to do this. Seriously." Sans looks at you for another few seconds, looking for the truth in your face again, before nodding.

"please."

You can't stop the wicked grin that comes up. You kiss him again, placing a hand on his sternum. He shivers. When you deepen the kiss you also open your hand to trace his rib cage through his shirt.

He pulls away, still shivering. "that's nice." You trail your lips back to his neck and your hand slowly out and down his ribs. You slowly move your hand down to pull his shirt up just a bit, enough to makes your motives known, and wait for permission.

"please," he repeats. Gently, for the first time, you bring your hand under his shirt and up to his lower ribs. He lets out a bliss filled sigh that you copy without meaning to. He's warm, warmer than you thought he'd be, and his ribs feel thicker than you thought they would. Not to mention the magic that you feel beneath your fingertips – there's pure power sparking in his bones.

It's intoxicating.

You explore him slowly, alternating between kissing his neck and his mouth. Time feels like it's slowed down. He's quivering beneath your fingers, torn between being content and wanting more. You remember the feeling of being on the receiving end of this from him. You drop his ribs and, before he can react, move your hand to the wing of his pelvis.

He freezes – for a split second you think you've gone too far- before he throws his skull back and moans. "babe, please," he mumbles after a minute of gentle touches. "more." You oblige, gently removing yourself from his neck and sliding down to the floor again. This way you can use both hands. For a second, seeing as Sans still has his skull thrown back, you just drink in the view.

The lower ribs –floating ribs, you think you remember them being called-are thicker than what you've seen on model skeletons. His spine is too, although from what you can see of his pelvis is pretty similar. His bones are a beautiful shade of ivory. If it wasn't for the fact that it might hurt the skeleton's feelings you’d laugh – you really are attracted to him.

Enough to do this.

As soon as it registers that that feeling is your tongue on the left wing of his pelvis, Sans lets out the loudest groan you've heard yet. When he doesn't stop you when you repeat the process on the right side, you decide to step it up a notch and gently suck on the side. Sans reaches for you and you pull away.

He looks at you, the whites of his eyes slightly hazy, confused. "No touching me. This is about you." You bring both your hands to his ribs once more.

"you're something else," he finally says. "this is...this is amazing."

For a minute, you don't say anything. You let him relax into your touch as your nerves start to build up. "So, um, that magical body trick of yours. Can you feel it or..?" You trail off at the end, your bravery leaving you.

He outright laughs at you. "can I feel it? are you serious?" At the look on your face, his laughter dies. "sorry, thought that wouldn't be a question since we've, ya know, already fucked. yes, i can feel everything. magic is an extension of the SOUL. everything we do probably feels better to me than to you actually."

"In that case, why don't you throw me a bone here?" You're surprised at how confident you sound (bad pun and all) as you lean against his femur. You're not confident right now, not in the least. He gulps despite not having a throat.

"you sure? i know my magic makes you un-"

"It doesn't," you interrupt him again. "Not anymore." When you say that, his expression becomes so tender that it makes your insides twist pleasantly. He closes his sockets and when he opens them his right one is dark and barren (your stomach does still knot up loosely at that) and his left socket's eye is larger, a swirling mix of blue and yellow. There's also now a bulge in his shorts that you ignore for now as you lean up and touch the side of Sans' face.

"You're amazing." Even though you told him not to touch you, he pulls you up for a hungry kiss at your words. You can let it slide...for now. When you pull away (up close, you can see that aqua and lemon colors look more like a human iris than you thought), your nerves are back.

"Remember, just say the word and I'll stop." He doesn't say a word as you move back down, just nods his head. He's nervous too you realize. You feel courage and desire flood you – you can do this. You go back to exploring him, relaxing him again before you grab him through his shorts.

"fuck!" You grin at his outburst when his hips buck up. Gently, you move his shorts lower. Seeing him bare fills you with desire. He's a normal length, nothing too crazy there, definitely girthier than anyone you've ever been with, and most certainly bluer.

Shit, you're staring. Gently, you wrap a hand around him and are instantly rewarded with a shudder and a moan. Before he can start to wrap his skull around what you're doing, you lean close and give him an experimental lick ("what are you do-shit!" ). Huh, he doesn't really taste like anything and there is a light tingling sensation on your tongue. Empowered, you take him into your mouth and bob your head.

In the past, you thought you had enjoyed giving head. There was a thrill in making your lover feel good. Now? Nothing compares to or will ever compare to this. This is the ultimate high. Sans is losing his skull – in your wildest fantasies, you'd never imagined him being a vocal as he was. He's a panting, moaning, shivering bag of bones – and yes, his bones were rattling. Score one for you.

When you glance up, you treated to the ultimate dessert of a vision. Sans is lost somewhere between being in the moment and in pleasure. His skull is tossing, his ribs are heaving, and his hands are gripping the poor beanbag so tightly that you're almost impressed that he hasn't poked a hole it in. Maybe he has, who knows? Score two for you. 

You think about taking your time with him, drawing this out, to really find out what he likes and to drive him crazy. Nah. There's time for that later, you just want him to enjoy this. When you add a hand back into the mix, the other grabbing one of his hands, he manages to look at you. He's positively wrecked. Desire twists tighter in you - seeing him like this is thrilling. You'll be drawing this out at some point in the future for sure. 

"babe i-" he stops to let out a loud moan that you swear you can feel, "'m close." You'd grin if your mouth wasn't full. When he looks at you again, praying you don't look stupid you give him a wink before you close both your eyes and focus on making him feel good again. His hips are twitching beneath you, he's moaning and letting out the most filthy string of profanities you've ever heard. He gives your hand a quick squeeze - "'m gonna-oh god, ----." When he releases, there's a spark of magic in your mouth and what you can only describe as the memory of a taste. You swallow around him and he whimpers.

When he's done, you pull away and pull his shorts back up for him. The look he's giving you is making you self-conscious. It's so tender and...loving that it has you on your toes. "thank you," he finally says. "no one's ever...you're amazing." He pulls you up to him, nuzzling your head. You just smile, not knowing what to say to that.

Suddenly,before you can say anything, his grin is wicked and you're underneath him. "your turn now. if you want that is."

"Oh. I most certainly want." He's kissing you now and nothing else matters. Mimicking you in a way - from your mouth, to your jawline, to your neck. The spark of desire is on the verge of becoming a full on wildfire -

That's when, in a giant middle finger from the universe, his phone rings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...
> 
> A thousand more words than usual and STILL almost two thousand words of fondling a skeleton alone.
> 
> I have NO regrets.
> 
> This is not the smut I planned for this chapter, but it's SO much better. For Sans anyway. Poor reader.


	32. Wingmen

Does the universe hate you? One second you're underneath a skeleton that's looking at you like a starved man, the next said skeleton is answering his phone. You're less annoyed when you hear Pap's voice from the other end of the line, but still.

You were worked up from your impromptu blowjob for Sans and the moment, judging from the look on his face, was dead. When he hangs up, he looks annoyed.

"they're home," he grumbles, his pinpricks dancing over you. "want to keep going here or wait?" Oh, maybe the moment wasn't dead. You pull Sans back down for a kiss and – nope, not happening. Not on this thing.

"Wait," you make sure to spit out the word like it's the worst idea you've ever heard. He chuckles, kissing your forehead.

"sorry." He looks over you, the tender look back on his face. When he kisses you again, your annoyance melts. You can wait, it's not that bad. That's what you'll tell yourself anyway.

"I'm fine. Seeing you like that was a pretty good happy ending on it's own." You mean it. It was.

Something subtle in his expression shifts – you can't pinpoint what, but you like it. "stay the night with me." Frisk – you're about to mention that you can't leave Frisk alone overnight when he speaks again. "not tonight. when you guys stay with us during the storm. try and spend the night alone. well, with me."

"I'd love to."

* * *

 

For a change of pace, you steal Frisk away before dinner at the brothers’ place and head over to Grillby’s. Frisk is excited (BURGERS) and so are you (BOOZE). Since its early, the only regulars that are here are the entire Canine Unit and that’s just since it’s apparently poker night. Frisk tries to just sit with you at the bar after you poured them a water much to Grillby’s amusement, but before you know it Frisk is joining in their poker game.

Grillby, ever the perceptive little shit, struts over with your drink. "Helping yourself to the bar gear now?"

"Yeah. Kiddo's a bit young for booze and should probably stay hydrated." You take a sip and make a sound of pleasure. "I know my way around a bar. Well, human bar at least."

"Really?" Grillby sounds surprised. You realize suddenly that since you and Grillby just 'click', you've never told him about life on the surface for you. Lowering your voice significantly, praying the dogs aren't listening in, you explain about your waitressing gig.

"I could use a hand around here, you know. At least when it's busy."

"I can't yet," you say as you gesture towards Frisk with your head. "I'd love to, but not yet. They have bad nightmares and...well, I trust Frisk as much as you can trust a kid I guess. Which means I don't trust them not to go wandering off into Waterfall."

Grillby nods, watching Frisk. "What are you doing for the blizzard?"

"Shacking up with Paps and Sans. Why? What are you doing?"

"I was going to offer up space for you and Frisk if they didn't. Since they have though," he pauses to give you a positively wicked grin. "I won't. I do believe you have some payback you need to attend to with Sans."

"I got it today. You could say I blew his ever-loving mind." Whoops, probably shouldn't have said that -

Grillby bursts out laughing so loud that, to your embarrassment, everyone looks over at the two of you. "Oh my god. Amazing. You two are meant for each other, I swear." At the look on your face, he laughs even harder.

"Please don't mention anything to Sans." You smash your head into the bar. You're such an idiot.

"Are you kidding me? Of course I will! I will, however, try and save it for a special occasion."

"Thanks Grillbz."

You take a giant gulp of your drink, relaxing into your seat. "He gave me a key to his workshop and room," you say, feeling the need to talk about it with your friend.

Grillby is eyeing you oddly now. Can you read him better now because of the shared determination or is that just your imagination? "So?" Grillby finally says.

"So," you parrot the word.

"So what? Oh. Your kind goes slower, don't they? Is it weird for it to be so soon?"

"Kind of," you're glad he caught on. "That usually happens months into a relationship if not more than a year in for us." Plus, you hate to admit it even to yourself, but with your history you're incredibly trigger shy. "How did things work with Joan?"

"It was five-hundred years ago, ----. She was a progressive woman and we were a very unique couple, but we married fast." He smiles, the gentlest smile you've ever seen, and you know he's reliving a memory. "She came onto me first, actually." 

You laugh, imaging a younger Grillby getting flustered by a young woman approaching him. "Can you tell me about her sometime? Er, If you want to that it is."

"One day, I will. This isn't about me though. To start with – does it feel wrong?" Grillby is leaning close to you now.

"No," you admit. "I.. Well..." You quietly give him the run down with of your last relationship. Grillby looks incensed (hahaha) at the end of it. He gently grabs your hand from across the bar and gives it a squeeze.

"I'm sure you know this by now, but how they treated you isn't on you."

"I stayed," you argue. "I asked for some of it by staying."

"Seeing the best in others isn't a flaw," he says simply. "I can only imagine how that feels, but you've come out of it in one piece. It actually explains how adaptive you are very well."

You ignore the last bit for now. "I'm not the same person I was before. I wish I-"

"No," Grillby barks out, sounding as harsh as you've ever heard. " **That** feeling I do know and you won't get pity from me. You can't go back. You shouldn't want to. Take the pain and remember that it's a part of you. It's made you stronger, the same way losing my wife and son made me stronger. I miss them daily. The old me, the one that had them was a different person in a lot of ways. He couldn't have survived their loss and didn't to an extent. I did." As he talks, his flames get brighter and spark.

"You're right," you admit after a minute. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..." You hadn't meant to upset the normally relaxed bartender.

"Don't feel bad for coming to me. I'm just not going to coddle you. You deserve better than that." You smile at him, sipping at your drink. Grillby really was a great guy to have in your corner. You had needed that kick in the ass. It really was helping.

"Next question – do you feel like the two of you are moving too quick? Not based on cultural norms or whatever, but from what's in your SOUL."

"No."

"Then that's all that matters." He grabs your glass, refilling it.

"I wonder..." He sounds like he's talking to himself for a second, leaning against the bar so he could look you in the eyes. "What do you feel when your close to him ----?"

You feel your face heat up a bit and not from his sudden close proximity again. "Butterflies in my belly, happiness, joy?" You're confused. Grillby says nothing, he just looks at you. His poker face reveals nothing. You think about it and remember the feeling. "Sometimes I feel like...I feel like there's a warmth coming from him that my SOUL can feel."

Grillby grins.

"What?" You ask.

"Tell you later," he purrs. "I'll get started on those burgers, hmm?"

Before you can ask, Frisk calls for you. " _Come play poker with us!_ "

**********

Dinner without you is dull now. It doesn't matter that you've only been here for... what? Two weeks at this point? Dinner with Papyrus is still an ordeal, Sans can't help but smile as Papyrus tries to apply what you've told him were "surface tricks", but it's still quiet without you and the kid.

He knows you're at Grillby's. You hadn't exactly hidden it, but he decides to give you the tiny bit of space. Even if it's killing him inside. This morning had started off rocky, but had went even better than he could have dreamed of.

Giving you the key had been terrifying. One date was soon even for monster standards, but the two of you were different. You'd lived through a reset with him and remembered. Like you'd said, there hadn't been a relationship like this one in centuries. You hadn't rejected him though. God he'd been so scared.

"BROTHER? WHAT DO YOU THINK?" Papyrus brings him back to the present.

"It's good paps." He grins at the look of pure joy that crosses his younger brother's face. He eats the rest of his dinner since it actually was pretty good and makes a mental note to nab the Blasters some fries. After dinner, Paps starts to work on some plans for a new human trap and he begins to read one of the physics books that he'd bought right before Gaster disappeared.

He's so hopeful this time that he can actually start to get into it. 

"SANS," Papyrus sounds cautious which snaps him out of his book out of habit. This tone was usually accompanied by some sort of bad news when they were kids. Like the time he broke a lamp.

"'sup bro?"

"HOW DID TODAY GO?"

Sans feels the blush start before he could stop it. What could he say? He certainly couldn't tell him the truth - 'it went great, bro. ----'s got talented hands. and that tongue of hers!' No, not happening. His brother may be a grown man, but he's still his baby brother. "it went great," he finally says. "i gave her a key."

The shock on Papyrus' face is something. "WOWIE, REALLY?" Bless Paps. Not even blinking about how soon it was to give someone a key (usually it takes at least seeing someone's SOUL and at least three dates to do that). "THAT'S GREAT! I'M GLAD YOU'VE FOUND SOMEONE THAT MAKES YOU HAPPY!" Not even a care that that someone was a human.

He just beams. He is happy. He's still wary of Frisk, but it's getting easier to trust them over time. Something in his SOUL is more forgiving than he thought he was capable of being.

"SO BROTHER I'VE BEEN THINKING. ---- AND FRISK PLAN ON STICKING AROUND, RIGHT?"

"looks that way." What's Paps getting at?

"SO LIVING IN THAT INN WILL EVENTUALLY GET EXPENSIVE. " Papyrus looks over at him from his plans, looking nervous. "I KNOW IT WOULD BE A LITTLE CRAMPED HERE, BUT WITH HOW THINGS ARE GOING WITH YOU TWO IT JUST MAKES SENSE." He's shocked. He hadn't even thought about that yet.

"bro."

"THEY'RE OVER HERE ALL THE TIME ANYWAY AND I LOVE HAVING THEM HERE."

"bro."

"I JUST THINK IT WOULD BE GOOD FOR ALL OF US. I FEEL LIKE I KNOW THEM BOTH SO WELL ALREADY! THEY'RE LIKE FAMILY."

"bro," Sans finally raises his voice a bit to grab Papyrus' attention. His SOUL nearly breaks at the passion in Paps' voice when he mentioned knowing the both of them already. He'd always thought that the others seemed to remember something about Frisk from time to time - he'd catch a glimmer of recognition in their faces for a second sometimes. Hypothesis confirmed apparently. Family. The two of you are family now, he muses. "things are different for humans paps. i want to see how things go with ---- for a bit before i ask them to move in. where would we even put them?"

Papyrus looks at him like he's stupid for a second. "FRISK COULD SHARE A ROOM WITH ME. WE COULD SHARE MY RACECAR BED OR EVEN GET BUNKBEDS FOR NOW!" Sans can't help the grin that forms at the sheer passion in his voice. He'd been thinking about this for a while. "As for ----. I assumed she'd be sleeping in your room, dear brother," Papyrus practically coos at him. When had has little brother grown up?

"...for now?" He's not having another sex talk with his brother. He's done it before and he wasn't touching the topic again. An eight year age difference combined with doing the majority of the parenting falling on him - nope. Not happening.

"WELL, I ASSUME EVENTUALLY THE TWO OF YOU WOULD BOND AND WE COULD GET A BIGGER PLACE." Kill him now. Sans hadn't wanted to think about these things yet. There's so much to consider, so many variables, so many obstacles to overcome.

"paps...i... i have to take it slower with her. humans don't commit as soon as we do. i don't want to scare her off. it's only been one date, dude."

"SANS," he sounds exasperated. "I'm not stupid. There's something more between the two of you. The two of you know each other."

He snorts, knowing exactly what his brother was implying. "predestined soulmates are bullshit. a soul-mate is a bonded monster and we may call each other that once we bond, but there's no such thing as a _soulmate_."

"Whatever you say, Sans."

"let's, uh, see how this sleepover thing goes though. we'll go from there, ok?"

* * *

 

Soulmates were fairytales, Sans had that thought drilled into him by Gaster and had it cemented by life experience. Sure SOULs could compliment each other and the SOULs of family members could even be similar. Science supported that. He'd seen that in the research himself. Someone that your SOUL just "clicks" with, like the missing piece of a puzzle though? Not a chance.

Not a chance in hell.

Especially not a cross-species soulmate. He scoffs, tossing in his bed that night. He's all magic, you're only a fraction of magic; there's no way that the concept of being soulmates is possible. He knows the truth – you two 'know' each other because there are months of history that Papyrus couldn't possibly know about.

So why can't he stop thinking about the idea? Why is this what's keeping him awake?

Curiosity, he decides, curiosity about your SOUL. He already wants to see it, he won't lie to himself. To find out if you two could be more (or even just what all the fuss and secrecy was about the process). If you weren't, would he hang around? Or would he just wonder if it was because of the species difference? Would you even want to do this with him? Further down the line, would you even want to bond with him?

This is making his skull hurt. He sighs, eyeing his room. Should he clean a bit before you come over or should he just have you see him as he is? Eh, probably as he is. He remembers his previous lovers with a pang of irritation. As he is for sure. He's not pretending. Papyrus may not know about all of the dates he had been on while he worked for Gaster, but he'd gotten into a few what he thought were serious relationships. He never came close to SOUL sharing. One thing would lead to another and they just couldn't handle him – lazy, scientific, skeletal Sans. He'd rather you walk away because of him than stick around for someone he isn't.

He should really be sleeping, but Papyrus' words keep buzzing around in his skull no matter how hard he tries to clear it.

Papyrus wants you and Frisk to move in, but...How could he ever trust Frisk enough for them to move in? Would you even want to?

He spends most of the night tossing and turning, but not for the reasons he thought he would. Despite his fears, he can't help but want his family here with him, under one roof. You and Frisk, two humans and two genetically altered skeletons under one roof. _Family_.

He's so fucked. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing Sans is so much fun and, honestly, so is Paps. You'll be seeing more of the Great ~~Cockblock~~ Wingman Papyrus for sure, along with Relationship Guru Extraordinaire Grillby.


	33. Hiding Out

Today's the day. Books from the library for Frisk (you weren't a teacher, but you were trying to teach Frisk what you could) and for you. Packed up bags. How on earth had you two accumulated so much extra shit in less than a month? Or at least how had you two spread your stuff all over your room already? Seriously, this was ridiculous.

You were a bundle of nerves to say the least. Asgore would be here this morning. Asgore, the King, would be in the same town as you. You're on edge – this is way closer than you want to get to him. Frisk seems nervous as well.

"What's wrong Frisk?"

" _Nothing_ ," they lie.

"Lying is wrong, kid. If you don't want to talk about something just say that."

" _I don't want to talk about it yet._ " Much better.

"Okay then. Well, let's say adios to Bunny and Felicia if she's downstairs before we leave for the next few days."

* * *

 

Outside, Sans is waiting for you by the Christmas tree. He's tense too. He's been tense for the past few days, which was definitely the opposite of what you were going for with the blowjob, and when questioned just shrugs it off.

Had you messed something up? Ugh, not the time. Or is it?

"you two ready? bunny think that you'll be in waterfall?"

" _Yep!_ " Frisk still sounds nervous, but you know that they're looking forward to a few days with Papyrus and even looking forward to spending some time with Sans. 

"Yeah, we're ready." You lower your voice, "Sans if you don't want me to stay with you..." You let your voice trail. You'll what? You're already checked out for the next few days.

Sans gently clicks his forehead against yours, Frisk's " _ew_ "s in your head,"it's not that. i'm just scared."

"Why?"

He shakes his head. "maybe because the king, who's actively looking for one more human SOUL, is on his way here now and i happen to have two of them?" You can't help it, you giggle and so does Frisk.

"c'mon guys, let's take a shortcut to waterfall." He gently pulls your wrist and you think you see a yellow blur out of the corner of your eye on your way into the void.

* * *

 

You and Frisk are curled up on the beanbag (you're trying desperately not to think about what happened on this beanbag the last time you saw it), just relaxing in the quiet. Asgore's in town now.

Sans had said that he'd come get you both when he's gone. The room is quiet, only the sound of your breathing breaking the silence. Gently, you run your fingers through Frisk's messy brown mop of hair. You'd expected them to protest this. Not them willing going into this workshop without a single complaint.

"What's Asgore like?" You want to bring Frisk out of their thoughts. They look lost in their memories and you don't want them stuck there. You imagine a tall and terrifying shadowy figure in your head.

" _He's like Mom. Gentler in a lot of ways though._ " You guess you were very wrong then. " _He's taller than Mom, with horns and a blonde long beard. Sad eyes. Very sad eyes_." You're secretly happy that his eyes are sad. Anyone who murders six children needs to be sad. You know better than to voice that thought to Frisk.

" _Whenever I talked to people about him before, they said that Mom was the actual ruler._ " You wait for them to say something else, but they don't. You sigh and try to relax. You just keep seeing a horned Tori bursting through the door in your head. The sound of your breathing starts to get on your nerves.

"I thought I'd have to tie you up to keep you here honestly," you try to keep the conversation flowing.

" _I don't want to see him._ " Frisk looks at you and you see the dam break. " _Almost every time I see him, he dies. I either have to fight him and Chara decides to kill him or Flowey kills him. I...I don't want him to die_ ,"guilt fills their voice. They're crying suddenly and you understand why they didn't fight this. 

You just pull them closer. You know your words won't help right now. It's too new of a wound to talk about.

You can only hope that time will help them.

* * *

 

_It's you and Frisk, alone in the darkness. No. You and Chara. Frisk's red eyes stare you down._

_" You're dumb, you know."Their voice is mocking. "You can't remember AND you're missing pieces now."_

_"You're dead," you call out to them. They shrug at you._

_" I've been dead for centuries. It hasn't stopped me before." They hold out a hand and Flowey appears in it, wrapped around their arm. "Either way, this is fun again. Or it will be once I can make myself known again." They gently stroke dream Flowey's petals. You're shocked by the affection in that movement._

_Angry static fills the darkness and Chara rolls their eyes. " You should go before he gets here. He's mad." They giggle, a crazed sound. "If you wake up on your own you stand a chance at remembering this." You feel a terror rising in you as the static grows stronger._

_" Why am I helping you? Simple. You're new and he HATES when people tamper with this experiment that he's turned this into." It's even louder now, closer. Your head is throbbing. "Remember this, human. Beware the man that came from the other world. Beware of the man that speaks in hands."_

You wake up screaming.

* * *

 

" _\----? Are you -? What's wrong?_ "

"Babe? What happened?"

What had happened? God, why couldn't you ever remember your nightmares anymore? It was like trying to hold onto the wind. Futile. You remember...Chara. Flowey. You say nothing, ignoring Sans, and just pull Frisk to you. You feel Frisk hold you the way you usually hold them and an extra hand is placed on your back.

"Just a nightmare," you say more to yourself than them once you feel calmer. "A bad nightmare."

" _Chara?_ " Frisk guesses.

"Yeah. Chara and Flowey. They were mocking me. I can't remember why though." You pull you face out of Frisk's neck to look at Sans. He looks awkward, like he doesn't know what to say. You'd told him about your nightmares, but telling and seeing were two very different things. "Sorry, that was a bad one. Usually I just wake up."

"you ok now?" He's worried and it warms your SOUL. You're calming down even more now. Everything is fine. It's all fine.

"Yeah, I'm good."

" _Sis...you're squeezing me too tightly_."

"Sh-crap, sorry." You drop them. "I'm fine. So, um. Party?"

Both Frisk and Sans are looking at you like you're insane. Sans catches on to your attempted distraction first. "sure thing. good thing i know a shortcut to a party, huh?"

You watch Frisk squeeze their eyes shut as they cling to you. You gently kiss Sans' cheek as thanks as he wraps an arm around you.

"what's wrong frisk?" You feel a burst of lov- no, not even going to think that word yet- affection at his concern for Frisk. 

" _I hate the void. Every time I go in, I'm scared I won't come out_."

"it'll be quick kiddo, promise. it's already snowing too hard to walk outside in. we're going in three...two...one." When you're pulled into the void this time, you're on edge even for the short trip. Frisk's words fill you with dread.

* * *

 

"I WENT SHOPPING IN NEW HOME MYSELF! BUT I, UH, I GOT CARRIED AWAY. APPARENTLY GOING GROCERY SHOPPING HUNGRY IS A BAD IDEA." You can't help the unattractive snort that comes out of your mouth at that. It's dinner time – you'd all had leftovers from the mornings festivities (apparently Sans slipped some into the void for the Blasters and had also had them guard two plates for you and Frisk).

"Yeah, it's a bad thing to do. If I do that, I wind up forgoing my entire shopping list and leaving with essentially nothing but oreos, milk, and raw cookie dough."

" _Isn't raw cookie dough bad for you?_ "

"It hasn't killed me yet."

" _Ew._ "

"Ew? Frisk. My child. You haven't had cookie dough?"

" _No?_ "

"We're fixing that. We're so fixing that. Papyrus, if I give you a list and some gold can you grab some things for me the next time you go to the store?"

"I SURE CAN! I'VE NEVER HAD COOKIE DOUGH EITHER. WILL IT BE SAFE?"

"Well, since it'll be monster food I'm sure it will be." Man, that took some of the fun out of it. The risk of salmonella was part of the experience.

"I'LL COOK DINNER TONIGHT – I WANT TO SHOW YOU WHAT I'VE LEARNED TO DO!" You grin. Paps, in two short weeks, had come far. Everything was edible now. Some things might be crunchier than they were supposed to be, but hey, at least the sequins had been banished from the kitchen.

"Sure thing, Paps. Surprise me! Speaking of surprises, you guys have any human movies?" You knew they did, you'd watch a few with them last timeline, but Papyrus didn't know that.

"OF COURSE! SANS, CAN YOU SHOW THEM MY COLLECTION?"

"sure thing paps. c'mon you two."

Papyrus keeps all the human VHS tapes (seriously, how had a DVD player NOT fallen yet?) on a bookshelf in his room.

"Are there any you haven't seen?" You ask Sans first. You'd hate to pick out something that he's got memorized.

"yep. i haven't seen very many of them actually. paps started collecting them when i started working for our dad. i was a busy guy (Frisk snorts loudly) before he died." Frisk looks incredibly taken aback for a second.

" _I'm sorry - I didn't know._ "

"it's cool kid. don't worry about it, we weren't close. he was kind of a _monster_." Frisk, ever the empathetic child, giggles at his bad joke. "see anything you're interested in?" Frisk begins to mull over their options while you give Sans a once over. He's not the only one that undress someone with their eyes.

You don't even try to contain the lewd grin on your face when his face takes a light blue sheen to it and he almost looks bashful all of the sudden. Cute.

" _This one!_ " Frisk announces loudly without turning around.

"Alien? Seriously? It's a great movie, but it's pretty scary. How old are you again?" The goal for the night is to NOT give Frisk nightmares that will send them straight to you.

" _C'mon sis, please? I've been through scarier stuff than a guy in a costume!_ " You scoff at that. You try and remember a bit more about the movie's gorier details. It's more suspense, you find yourself rationalizing. They HAVE been through some scary stuff.

"Have you seen it Sans?" You toss it at him.

"nope. paps wanted to watch it with me a long time ago, but I was busy," his tone is regretful. "scary movie, huh?"

"Eh, it's more suspense. Tell you what Frisk – pick one more age appropriate movie for now. If you're still awake after that, we'll watch it tonight. If you're not, we'll wait until the morning."

" _Why?_ " They whine in your head.

"I have my reasons." They sigh, knowing that they won't win this one, and go to pick another one.

"reasons huh?" You feel an arm slide around your waist.

"Yep," you whisper. "I'm betting money that they'll fall asleep before the first movie's done. I don't want to actively encourage nightmares this late." Especially not when you're hoping to get Sans alone. He hums happily next to you at that.

" _This one!_ " Frisk holds up a copy of Aladdin.

* * *

 

Frisk, in an act of defiance, doesn't fall asleep during Aladdin that night. You're groaning internally when during the credits Frisk smirks at you, clearly satisfied with themselves.

" _I'm still awake!_ "

"Clearly," you say, managing to keep most of the disdain from your voice. You're a person of your word though, so once you hit rewind (god, you'd forgotten how this was a thing), you send Frisk up to grab the movie.

"I'M EXCITED! I'VE WANTED TO WATCH THIS FOR AGES, BUT DIDN'T WANT TO WATCH IT BY MYSELF!" Papyrus announces. When you glance over at Sans, he's beaming over at Paps. You don't ask if Papyrus is sure he wants to watch this – you won't infantilize the man.

Frisk slides down the stair rail much to your annoyance, VHS in hand. They toss it to you for you to put in. Already rewound.

Sigh. Here's to corrupting small children. You hit play, fast forwarding to the opening credits.

"Alright, I feel like I should warn the two of you – there's at least one scene of breaking bones in this movie."

"I CAN HANDLE IT!"

* * *

 

Everyone had handled the movie well. Sans had actually been weirded out the most when he caught sight of the human –humanoid, you correct yourself-skull in the Alien's head. By the end of it, you can barely keep your eyes open. You glance at the clock on the wall – it's almost midnight. That explains a lot.

"Alright kiddo – brush your teeth and then bed." They don't fight you. Apparently they'd used up their defiance for the day.

"----, would you care to join us for a bedtime story?" Papyrus says, also apparently worn out.

"Sure thing. What're reading?" You yawn and you feel Sans, who you're leaning on, yawn as well. When your eyes open, Paps is already upstairs.

"we've been reading the first lord of the rings book," Sans' voice is low. You lean back further so he can see you raise your eyebrows. That was NOT what you were expecting. "what? it's good and it helps put us both to sleep."

"Stop canoodling you two!" Paps sounds annoyed, but when you look up he's looking at the two of you fondly.

"c'mon, up."

* * *

 

Papyrus had caught Frisk up on the plot so far and Sans read two chapters. His voice was so soothing. If there was room for one more you might have crawled in with Paps and Frisk and just gone to sleep right there. They're both almost asleep when Sans stops.

" _Sis?_ "

"What's up, Frisk?"

" _If I have a nightmare..._ "

"we'll be right next door, bud." Sans answers for you and you nod. They smile up at you, reassured, and close their eyes. Smiling, you follow Sans out the room and into his. He looks almost embarrassed as he unlocks the door, letting you in first. You don't feel like cross examining it right now (you don't even bat an eye at the random treadmill), but you get the gist of it. It's plain, simple, but still oh-so Sans that you have to smile.

"Twin bed huh? Hope you're a cuddler." You glance behind you to see him, the shock obvious on his face. "What side do you want me on?"

It takes him another second to recover. He'd apparently expected you to not take this well. Tough shit, you aren't deterred by a little mess.

"um. i'll take inside, i guess." He pads into his room, now looking nervous, and slides into bed. You're only about two steps behind him. The two of you shift a bit before you find a position that works. He's facing you, right arm under the pillow and his left tossed over you. You've mirrored his position.

"Sorry I'm too tired to -"

"s'ok," he murmurs, his sockets lidded. "this is nice."

"Mhmm." You snuggle closer. For a skeleton, he's pretty comfortable to cuddle with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alien is one of my favorite suspense/horror movies. Why the LotR at the end? Because man those books can put me to sleep. No pitchforks please - I do enjoy them, but the passages about the Ents could probably lull me to sleep even if I chugged an energy drink beforehand. 
> 
> The strength it took to not write "Bye Felicia!' into the story was something else.


	34. Snowed In

You snap awake early in the morning, mind reeling from a nightmare. Heavy breathing, heart-racing, sweating. Instead of Frisk, your first sight is Sans. Frisk is _fine_. You are _fine_. You were dreaming about – FUCK. Why couldn't you remember? You close your eyes again, not sure if you wanted to remember your nightmare or just go back to sleep.

"you alright?" Apparently twitching awake woke up Sans.

"Shit, I'm sorry."

"don't worry 'bout it. i have nightmares too sometimes," his voice is gravely from sleep. "they're horrible 'cause they really happened. i see people dying, chara stabbing me."

You don't say anything and just take in the fact that this is how you woke up. Your torsos are apart, but your legs are tangled together. This is nice. It'd be nicer in a larger bed in your opinion, but it's still nice. You open your eyes again to see Sans looking at you. When he meets your gaze, he smiles.

"this is nice." He sighs and lifts his free arm, hand glowing a light blue and his phone being pulled into it. "four am. back to sleep?"

"Back to sleep." You snuggle closer and relax.

* * *

 

When you wake up again you feel well-rested. You don't immediately open your eyes. You just enjoy the feeling. At some point you had apparently rolled over, and now you could feel Sans pressed firmly against your back. It was strange since he wasn't awake to manifest the body that he usually did when he was this close to you, but not unpleasant.

When you do open your eyes this time, you take in his room. It's so Sans – plain, messy, random, and –you glance at the foot of the bed and grin – strange. So **THAT** was a self-sustaining trash tornado. How the fuck did that work? 'magic,' your mind mimics him automatically.

You feel like you could just close your eyes and go back to sleep – well, like you could if you didn't have to pee so bad. Slowly, gently, you remove yourself from the sleeping skeleton's grasp. You check his phone – it's now nine in the morning. Holy sleep.

Quietly, you sneak out of his room and into the bathroom. From there, you make your way to the kitchen. Frisk is up, cereal in a bowl, looking like they just stuck a fork in an outlet.

"Good morning cutie."

" _Good morning_." 

"How long ya been up for?"

" _Not long_ ," they sound tired still. " _Paps is still asleep. I wanna go ahead and get the school stuff done_." You grin at tired kid in front of you.

"We can do that."

* * *

 

You're working with Frisk, both of you up and showered and now sprawled out on the floor, when Papyrus comes downstairs about an thirty minutes after you came down. Sans strolls down another half-hour later, looking incredibly well rested and relaxed, chuckling at the sight of all three of you on the floor.

"Good morning lazybones."

"it is a good morning," he kisses you openly in a rare public display of affection. Frisk makes gagging noises next to you while Papyrus "AWW"s. You and Sans share a laugh as he goes into the kitchen and you return to working with Frisk. You nearly moan three minutes later when you smell coffee.

"Be right back," you tell the two on the floor. You hear Papyrus start talking about monster history with Frisk as you attempt to sneak into the kitchen. You manage to make Sans jump when you wrap your arms around him. "Knock knock."

"who's there?" You can hear his grin.

"Boo."

"boo who?"

"Aw, don't cry. I just snuck up on you." You giggle as he spins you around so he can kiss you in earnest.

"you're ridiculous." He's grinning his 'normal' grin, but the difference is that right now, it meets his eyes. "coffee?" He asks, already handing you a mug.

"Do you even need to ask?"

"what's everyone doing on the floor?"

"Edumacating Frisk." Sans snorts out a laugh. "It's not like I can just sign them up for school considering they're human." He looks thoughtful at that and you take a moment to sip the still hot coffee. Hot, but yum.

"aren't you afraid of burning yourself?"

"Nope. Monster food. Even if I do, I can fix it in less than a minute."

"someone's getting spoiled," Sans says, voice light. Just one more minute, you think, sipping on the coffee. One more minute before you have to go pull Frisk back on track. "want some help with them?"

Your eyes snap up to Sans. "not to brag or anything, but you are dating a scientist. i know enough about human science to keep it on their level. probably could help with math too if you want." This warms every fiber of your being. Sans was _trying_ with Frisk.

"Would you mind? That would be amazing." He grins at you and nods.

"c'mon, lets go teach that kid some stuff. gotta warn you though - i know some great science puns. i promise i'll only use them _periodically_."

"Sans!"

* * *

 

The four of you are a pile of limbs again that night. You and Papyrus had tag teamed dinner, so now it's onto another human movie. Papyrus had picked this one, one you'd seen a thousand times, but you enjoyed watching it with all of them anyway. You yawn and sigh in contentment.

Life was nice here. You'd kind of expected to have cabin fever by this point, but nope. Not even close. Sans had captured Frisk's attention earlier. They were enraptured with his explanations of how and why chemicals reacted to one, which had gone on to talk about SOUL color theory (Frisk had glanced at you at this point and you shook your head – not yet) and how magic was thought to actually work. The last part had turned into a debate between Papyrus and Sans – apparently monsters had no idea how magic actually worked other than the fact that it did.

Once Frisk had broken up the debate, telling you all that they were over learning, you'd moved on to board games, reading, talking, whatever – just enjoying each others company. You kept catching Papyrus giving Sans a smug look out of the corner of your eye. What was that about? Now, here you are. Sans to your left, Papyrus to your right, and Frisk somehow sprawled out in your lap and cuddling with the three of you.

You lean a little more on Sans and he leans backing, yawning back at you. The movie's credits begin to roll and you feel Papyrus' eyes on you as Frisk hops up to put in another movie.

"ARE YOU TWO TIRED ALREADY?"

"'m always tired bro," Sans yawns again as if to drive in the point. You just shrug your shoulders as best you can and mumble something about being comfy.

"WELL GO TO BED! FRISK AND I WON'T HAVE OUR MOVIE NIGHT RUINED BY SNORING!" A bony elbow hits your right arm and when you look at Papyrus, he winks. You feel your face go red – Papyrus is actively encouraging you to go fuck his brother. Sans hasn't moved so you know he didn't see the wink. You think about your options and -

You aren't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Frisk, you okay with that?"

" _Yes,_ " they say. " _Go get some sleep so we can play monopoly tomorrow!_ " Internally, you groan and curse the games existence down here. Apparently this was going to be an all day affair.

"Sans?"

"'k. i'm down for a snooze." He clearly hadn't caught on to Paps' antics yet. In a show of absolute laziness, he leans off of you and shortcuts out of the room.

"Oh my god," you shake your head. "Alright Frisk – no horror movies tonight. Paps, don't let them into the candy unless you like being up all night." Frisk sticks their tongue out at you, not a fan of being told 'no' on candy and horror movies.

" _Goodnight ----_ ," they raise their voice in your head, the unsubtle hint to leave clear as day.

"YES, GOODNIGHT ----!" Lewd wink. 

Grumbling to yourself, you ascend the stairs and into Sans' room. Sure as shit, he's laying in his bed in the exact same position as he was next to you. When you close the door, quietly locking the door behind you, he cracks open a socket at you.

"bed?"

"Something like that." You give him a wicked grin as Papyrus raises the volume on the TV downstairs and watch the pieces click together for Sans.

"unbelievable. i owe paps big time," he says, grin widening as he sits up. "so, where were we the other day again?"

"I don't know." You walk over towards him, trying to fight back your nerves. "Maybe we should start over?" You watch the desire overtake Sans at your words. His posture completely changes, the lights in his sockets dancing over you.

"as nice as that sounds, i think we should just pick up where we left off. just in case." For a second, you don't answer him. Your heart is pounding in your chest. Why are you so nervous all of a sudden? You just watch the storm rage out of his window for a minute, trying to compose yourself. It's snowing heavily and it even looks like there's a magical wind whipping the snow around. How powerful is Asgore to cast something like this? 

You jump when you feel Sans' arms wrap around you. You hadn't even heard him get out of bed. "nervous?" His voice is quiet in your ear. You nod, slightly embarrassed. It's not like you haven't done this before – hell, you've done this before with him for fucks sake. "me too. it's different this time, innit? unless you just don't want me?" You don't even dignify that with an answer at first, leaning into him as his fingers trail down your side.

"Of course I want you." You feel him grin into your shoulder at that. Gently, carefully, he spins you around to face him. When you meet his eyes, there's nothing but affection and desire in them. You feel that strange singing in your SOUL again.

"we can slow down or stop at any point. just say the word and we will, okay?" He's perfect, you realize right then. The things that you can't always put into words he just _gets_. You aren't sure who started it, but within seconds the two of you are kissing.

The dam, and nervousness, break the instant his tongue touches yours.

Nothing else matters besides the two of you. The world outside of this room fades to grey – all that's left is you and Sans. You thank past you for a second; thank god you'd had the wherewithal to wear the only cute underwear you owned under your pajamas – a cute lacy pair of panties and an (almost) matching bra.

You jerk your mouth away from his when his fingers skim your bare sides under your shirt. He looks surprised when you giggle and, like a good scientist, repeats the action which causes you to jerk into him. "That tickles Sans."

The surprise morphs into something more gentle when he grabs the sides of your shirt. "can I?" The hope and desire in his voice chases away any thought of nervousness again. You nod and raise your arms up to help him. "whoa" is all he says when you shirt hits the floor. When you reach for the zipper on his hoodie and pull it down, he snaps back to reality and helps you pull it off.

The next thing to go are your pants – when they pool at your feet, Sans seems to drink you in for a second before he pushes you towards his bed. You reach for his shirt and he, blushing, mimics your earlier action. You want to admire him, but you decide to give him something to look at too – he's speechless when your bra hits the ground and you pull him onto the bed with you.

You (try to) ignore his gawking to do your own. His ribs are thicker than a humans' for sure and his ribcage as a whole is wider and looks like it's slightly longer as well. His spine is thicker, smoother looking. Actually all of his bones look thicker. It makes sense – he can't just break for no reason. Unlike a human skeleton, his joints are bone so they look like they're interlocked.

"are you still -" Poor guy looks as self-conscious as you feel.

"Yes," you rush the word out and reach for his cheek. You feel the relief flood through him as he presses into your hand.

"good." You lean up and gently kiss his clavicle as he touches your chest, apparently remembering what he learned weeks ago. You let your fingers explore him. "you can grab on sweetheart," he mumbles. "you won't hurt me."

You grin up at him and lay back down, letting your fingers trace his ribs – this time, allowing your hand to dip between and behind them. He sighs happily, but doesn't do anything for a second, seemingly too distracted by the feeling and the sight of you only in panties in his bed. Trying to pull him back to this world, you gently tug on the waistband of his shorts.

"keep expecting to wake up, sorry. been dreaming about this for weeks." He gently starts kissing down your neck, nipping at your pulse for a second, before he moves down to your breasts. You let out a squeak when he begins to lavish attention to one nipple with tongue and the other with bony fingers. When he switches sides, you moan. He gently trails lower on you and you're almost shaking with anticipation.

"gotta confess something before we keep going, doll." You whimper as he trails his tongue directly right above the waistband of your panties. "i cheated the last time we did this. we were in a hurry, so i used magic to speed things along for you." That explains a lot, actually.

"That might be the best use of magic I've heard of so far." Your heart nearly stops when you feel him tug your underwear down your legs. You're naked. You're naked in front of the man you – the guy you're dating, you correct. You watch him looking for some sign that you aren't enough. That he wants a monster. Or a different human. Or – the doubts die when he shudders and looks at you through lidded eyes.

"i'm not going to do that this time." His voice is as husky as you've ever heard it now – you feel the coil of desire taking over now. "hope you don't mind if i want to get you off more." He pauses, eyes never leaving yours as he settles between your legs, skull resting on your thigh. "naturally."

You don't have a chance to retort before he's touching you, seeking out your clit, and you're gone. You feel teeth on your thigh – did he just bite you? Why was that so hot? The desire in your belly from the other day is back with a vengeance, all self-doubts gone, as he rediscovers what drives you crazy. You throw your head back and close your eyes, feeling your hands tangle in his sheets in an effort not to cry out when you feel his tongue touch you.

Oh.

_Oh._ You let out a quiet moan as the natural spark from his magic languidly licks up your slit to play with your clit. Fuck. This is amazing, you decide. You're never dating another human ever again, you decide then and there. Magic is amazing. Sans is amazing, you add on to your thought as you feel a single bony digit enter you. And that's the last coherent thought you had for a few minutes.

Time stops for you. In a combination of remembering and just knowing you, it doesn't take him long to figure out what drives you wild, what makes you reach down to grab at him. The tension in your belly keeps building. You're almost there. So close - and you're about to – he stops, grinning down at you.

"Sans," you don't try to keep the disappointment out of your voice. "I let you finish." He just keeps grinning, a playful spark in his eye that makes your disappointment vanish as he takes off his shorts and climbs between your legs.

"sorry," he finally says. "i have no intention on leaving you _bone dry_ , sweetheart. can i?"

You think about being cheeky until you look him in the eyes. He's looking at you like you're the center of his world and you can't find it in you to get smart with him right now. " _Please._ " He kisses you deeply and in the midst of your kiss you suddenly feel him hard and waiting against you. Sure enough, when he pulls away and opens his eyes, there's that one yellow and cyan iris waiting for you. "Please," you repeat.

He obliges, gently pushing into you.

You both gasp when he first pushes in and both whimper when he –finally- hilts. Thank the heavens you're obscenely wet right now. He doesn't move at first, which you're thankful for – your body technically hadn't been with a man in months at this point in time (fucking resets) and he's thick. Not obnoxiously so, but thick enough that you're glad for the chance to adjust. When he shudders, you kiss him and (after another minute) buck your hips up to meet his.

You both moan at the feeling, his magic sparking inside of you now, and he starts to move finally. If it wouldn't be rude right now, you'd laugh at your past ridiculousness. As you bring your legs to rest on the wings of his pelvis you realize that this just feels right.

"you with me still?" He lets out a low groan as you purposely tighten around him.

"Yeah." You let yourself giggle now. "I was worried about this being weird. But it's not. This feels _right_. This feels _natural_."

"i – god, i'm glad you think so." He's looking at you like, god, you don't even know right now. You must have said the right thing though. Whatever he'd been holding back snaps.

Words stop meaning anything after that. All that matters is you and him and the feeling buzzing between the two of you. You're chasing your peak for sure (and fuck if he isn't made for that – at some point he figures out to grind his hips a bit which hits your clit and your g-spot in one motion so that you see stars), but it's not just that. There's something more than just physical going on between the two of you.

You come surprising fast thanks to how much he'd worked you up and Sans is a mess following that. His bones are rattling and he hisses something about wanting to feel that again as he nips at your ear. Your fingers hook in the front of his ribs when you get an idea. Gently you raise a leg up, pulling him down over you and telling him to throw your leg over his shoulder.

Thank god for stretching.

"so good," he's mewling under his breath. "so so so good to me. fuck, you feel fantastic. more, fuck, more." The earnestness and the desire in his voice nearly bring you over the edge again which he notices. "don't hold back. i felt that, don't hold back." Man, you'd forgotten how hot the babbling is. You want to push him over the edge. You need to push him over the edge so you lower your hand to his sacrum and trace one of the holes.

That does it – Sans bites your neck and screams. When he slams into you that last time, the coil inside of your belly snaps again and you come with him. After a moment, he releases your neck and whimpers, riding out the aftershocks with you.

"Fuck," is all you manage as you drop your leg from his shoulder.

"fuck." He agrees with you, all of his weight pressing into you. His bones aren't exactly comfortable, but you don't mind. "shit, your neck. i'm sorry." You feel a gentle kiss on a now tender spot on your neck.

Your SOUL is singing in your chest, you feel it calling to him. That's the moment when you understand how screwed you are.

 

You're falling in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating this weekend. This chapter just didn't come together (HA) the way I wanted it to. On the upside I'm now two chapters ahead again and 75% done with the Papyrus POV thingy that's been in my head for like two weeks now. 
> 
> meadowsandapathy - no more spoiling chapter titles, okay? :P


	35. Connected

You don't dream that night. For the first time in weeks, you wake up well rested and – why can't you move? You crack an eye open and oh, that’s why. You're tangled up in Sans. At some point you'd both put some clothes back on just in case apparently. Yet again, you're amazed at how you're somehow comfortable cuddling up with Sans.

You giggle when he lets out a small snore. Why did he snore? He's a skeleton – why does he snore? There's that strange singing in your SOUL, the butterflies in your belly – oh yeah, your mind screeches to a halt. You're falling in love.

How would this work? You're not dumb, you realize that loving him was a potential outcome to this, but somehow you always thought he'd get bored with you. 'That he would discover that he wants a monster. That he would discover that _you're broken. Your SOUL is cracked, why would he want you? He'll see that and KNOW that I broke you_.'You nearly growl as your self-doubts take on your ex's voice in your head.

But.

How would this work? You're a human with a cracked SOUL, trapped in the underground with a child that could control time at one point (or maybe they still can), and you have the ability to free them all. Sans had mentioned sharing SOULs and bonding – would that even be possible with the two of you? Self-consciousness about your broken SOUL hits you hard and out of nowhere. God.

You should go talk to Alphys. Maybe she'd be able to shed some light on this.

You're pulled out of your thoughts by a gentle nuzzle and an arm tightening around you. Sans is still asleep. You almost laugh – even asleep, Sans is comforting you. You can worry about everything else later, you decide. For now, this is enough.

* * *

 

The blizzard stops that afternoon. You and Frisk both try to act like you're not disappointed when you look out the window to see no snowfall. When you all go outside (thank god, no more monopoly), you revel in the newer snow when you look up you almost expect to see sky. Instead you're greeted with the sight of rock above. For the second time today, you realize that you need to talk to Alphys.

To celebrate not having to be cooped up anymore, all four of you head to Grillbys that night.

“Well I'll be damned. Good evening Papyrus!” Grillby grins at you when you walk in – you can feel the happiness radiating off of him. The bar is as packed as you've ever seen it. From the look of it, all of Snowdin was here.

“HELLO GRILLBY!”

“heya grillbz.”

“ _Grillby!_ ”

“’Sup fireball?”

Grillby just waves, busy moving from table to table, to the bar, to the kitchen. To Papyrus’ great displeasure, you have to share a booth with Jerry and Snowdrake. Snowdrake is thankful to see you while Jerry is… Well, Jerry. Luckily, in large numbers he becomes easy to ignore. Papyrus and Frisk are to your left and Sans is in front of with Snowdrake and Jerry.

You all chat for a bit and you watch Grillby rush around the restaurant. He's keeping up, but just barely. You sigh and roll your eyes – are you really about to offer to help? Ugh, yes.

" _\----?_ " Frisk asks in your head.

"I'm gonna go see if Grillbz needs help," you groan lightly. Damn you for liking the guy and having experience. "You boys got eyes on the kid?"

"OF COURSE!" Papyrus leans across Frisk towards you. "Can you hurry though? I'm trapped with TWO of them AND Jerry." You snort out a laugh and nudge Frisk.

"I have a job for you – if Sans and Snowdrake start trying to out-pun each other, save Paps?"

" _Only if he saves me too_."

You ruffle their hair and as you walk away, press a kiss to the top of Sans' skull.

"don't work yourself too hard, you'll end up looking like me!"

You shake your head and head towards the kitchen – huh, it's small. Grillby's head snaps over to you, clearly not expecting anyone in here.

"It says 'fire exit' you know," he finally drawls at you. He's hunched over a decent sized range and fryer, fire magic exploding from his palms. He's moving quickly, already ignoring your presence again.

"Well I think I'm hot stuff," you quip. He spares a second to shoot you a dirty look. "I was here to ask if you wanted help, but now I'm here to demand that you tell me where you want me."

"Go ask Sans that."

"Grillby seriously. Can I take orders? Run orders? Butcher monster drinks?"

He eyes you over again, this time with tenderness. "You're serious?" You nod and his flames crackle in what you think is relief. "Can you run orders and the bar? The only ones that are drinking alcohol tonight are at the bar already and they can tell you how to make their drinks. No, it won't blow your cover."

Well, this should be fun.

* * *

 

Time flies behind the bar. It's been ages since you've done this (Technically around four months, right? The reset thing was confusing), but you find your work headspace again in almost no time. Monster drinks are similar enough to human ones (proportions are only for certain cocktails and losers. Sorry Grillby.).

Grillby is able to catch up and keep up with your help. The two of you make a good team – it doesn't take long for him to be able to run orders again with your help. After a bit (You have no idea how long), Sans grabs your attention.

"is it just me or is the bartender extra hot tonight?"

"Sans!" You can't help the giggles. "I'm sorry it's taking -"

"nah, it's cool. i'm glad grillby got some help tonight." He shakes his head when you offer him some ketchup. "we're gonna go, frisk and paps look beat. want me to come pick you up in a bit? i mean unless you want me to get you your room back at the inn." The last part is spit out so fast that you have to take a second to translate it.

"No, I'd love one more night with you. Thank you. I don't have a way to get in touch with you to let you know when Grillbz won't need me so I'll just walk."

"you can use my phone if you want. i can just borrow paps'."

"Sans, it's a two minute walk if that. Thank you. Make them brush their hair and teeth please?" He grins.

"see ya later."

* * *

 

Everyone's gone by midnight. It's weird – it's like some silent 'last call' had happened that you missed.

"You can go, you know." Grillby sighs and grabs a mop.

"It's still early – I got that, Grillbz." For the second time, you help Grillby clean his bar. After not working in so long you almost enjoy the mindless work.

"Thank you, ----. Not many people would do what you did."

"Eh, what are friends for?" You ask. There's a few more minutes of work (Ew, Sans had spilt some ketchup all over the floor) before Grillby says anything.

"The offer still stands, you know. To work here. You did well."

"One day, Grillbz. One day. I just don't want Frisk waking up alone. I think they'd leave if they woke up and thought it was a good idea."

"What's stopping them from doing it anyway? I got to admit, I don't how you trust them. How you can care for them like you do. They aren't kin to you, but -" Anger flashes through you at that. Fuck that, Frisk was a victim in this. "Sorry, I meant no offense.I just don't want you to get hurt. Now that I know what they've been forced to do again and again...It's hard to see them sometimes."

How had he known that you were pissed? You'd been facing away from him. You'd kept cleaning. "It's fine. I get it in a way. I just... I saw Chara. I know that Chara isn't Frisk. Maybe that helps?" The last part is more to yourself. "Grillbz, what's going on with us?"

He snorts. "I don't think Sans will like that train of thought."

You groan and stop what you're doing. "Grillby, stop deflecting. You know what I mean. I can read your moods easier now and you apparently can read mine too."

He sighs, a sound filled with resignation. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice. Look, I won't bullshit you – you shared a part of your SOUL with me. It's STILL with me."

"Are we bonded?"

"Uh – no. Bonding is much more intimate. But it's something like _being bonded I think. Something new maybe? I can feel you at all times if I concentrate. I can pick up on your moods. And you can pick up on mine_."

"That's an interesting hypothesis Grillbz. But there's no way to know."

" _Yes, there is_."

"How's that?"

" _I switched to my native tongue mid-sentence a while back and we're still talking_."

You feel yourself gasp under your breath. "We're connected." You know it's true now. There's no way it isn't.

" _Just do me a favor and keep this between us for now. We need to come up for a plan to tell Sans. So_ ," Grillby says, the 'so' is drawn out. " _Speaking of Sans, how was your little fuckfest?_ "

"Grillby," you groan out, beginning to clean again. "It was amazing."

*******************

Sans reads to the two in the racecar bed, picking up where he left off. Frisk is out before he finishes three pages, but Paps isn't. Paps looks like he's forcing himself awake. When Sans rolls to the end of a chapter, Papyrus finally stops him.

"Brother?" He voice is thick with sleep.

"what's up paps?"

"Are you going to ask?" Sans blanches at the question.

"not yet. i want to. i really do. i just don't want to ask too soon and mess this up."

Papyrus smiles, his eyes finally shutting. "Good. They belong here, I think."

Sans, despite everything that Frisk has put him through, is inclined to agree. Once Papyrus' breathing evens out, Sans shortcuts downstairs to make sure the front door is unlocked. It is. He debates going to lay down, but he knows nothing will come of it. It's not like he'll be able to sleep. What if Undyne came to town? What if Asgore came back again?

Yes, he knows he's being paranoid. He can't help it. It's been so long since he's cared this much. So he reads on the couch and tries not to think about you. It doesn't work. The past two days have been damn near perfect. Even with being stuck in one place and having very few options on what to do, being with you had been easy.

You make it easy to believe in Frisk. With you around, he doesn't see a threat to him and his family. He sees a small human child that was dealt a bad hand. Hell, when he first heard Frisk call you 'sister' his SOUL had nearly melted. The kid had adopted you as family and you'd adopted the kid. He even had zero problems with Frisk bunking with Paps.

Bunking with you had been perfect. He'd been so nervous both nights, and he had a hunch tonight would be no different, about sharing a bed with you. Both nights he thought that this would be the night. This would be the night where you realized that he was so different from you and you'd run, but you hadn't. You'd accepted him. Lazy, scientific, skeletal Sans just as he was.

God, and fucking you. He shivers at the memory. You were so responsive. You'd fallen to pieces under him and he'd fallen with you. Once he'd rolled off you (he'd never felt boneless after sex before, that'd been a first), he'd been afraid that you'd just had sex with him out of pity. You'd rolled out of bed, tossed him his pants, and his SOUL had nearly fallen out of his ribcage.

But then you gave him this cheeky little grin, pulled your bottoms back on and put his shirt on before crawling back into bed with him. In that moment, he knew he was boned. He needed to see your SOUL.

He's pulled from his thoughts when the door opens. You're home. You look ragged, but somehow still beautiful to him.

“You didn't have to wait up,”you say when you catch sight of him.

“Who says it's because of you? Maybe this book is just _forcing_ me to finish it.” He feels his face light up. He's pathetic and it doesn't bother him In the least.

He watches you roll your eyes when you catch sight of the physics title. “Ha. Ha. I hate to force you away from it, but can I use your shower? I'm disgusting.”

“You don't even need to ask babe.” You smile the sweetest smile at him and he melts into a puddle of goo. Not yet. He doesn't want to ask about your SOUL yet.

 

Soon though, he thinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since it's probably going to storm all day (THANKS COLIN!) I think I'll just write and play with Spawn all day. Actually even if it doesn't storm all day that's what I'll do. Florida is disgustingly muggy after rain. 
> 
> So, thoughts on how Sans is going to react to Reader's connection to Grillby?


	36. Undying Something (Probably Stupidity, but We'll Call It Bravery)

You wait two more days before you make your move. Just like the last time, it's first thing in the morning when you gather your courage enough to go through with it. You grab a sheet of paper and jot down a quick note before stuffing it in your pocket and talking to Frisk.

“Frisk hun, do you want to go to waterfall with me?”

“ _YES!_ ” You wince.  “ _Um I mean yes. Yes please. Are we going to see Undyne?_ ”

“Yep. I have conditions though.” You pause and they nod. You're impressed, you thought that would have gotten you some sass or at least an eye roll. “Well, one condition. I'm in charge. My word is law. If I say run, you turn tail and run. If I say hide, you hide. Got it?”

“ _Got it_.”

“Well, let's get this over with.”  Before you lose your nerve and regain your common sense. 

You make your way to the Riverperson, nerves dancing. You aren't a prisoner this time. You can do this. You can be brave. You want to talk to Alphys and the best way to do that is with Undyne’s help. You want to restart the experiments to try and free everyone. You want to know if there's anything written about wounded SOULs.

“Tra la la. Hello my human friends,” the Riverperson spots you. “I've missed our rides together ----.”

Your eyebrows shoot up into your hairline and your feel yourself tense. Frisk tenses beside you, confused. You haven't seen the Riverperson this timeline yet. How the hell?

“Tehehehe, don't be alarmed. I remember all, that's all.”

“ _You do?_ ” Frisk catches on quickly. You don't even have to look at them to know that they're petrified.

“I always have,” they say simply. “Neither you or the royal child ever bothered to ask is all.” At your expressions, they giggle. “All will be explained one day. Until that day, where to?”

You sigh. The Riverperson is always cryptic, but they've never lied before. Asking for clarity would be a waste of breath. “Waterfall please.”

“Let's go. Tra la la.”

In the boat, you hear a giggle in your ear. “Do not let your guard down, human. I sense something hiding in the darkness. Just out of sight.” Frisk doesn't react so that means… That's the Riverperson talking directly to you. "Was the royal human the puppermaster? Or did they just think they were?"

You shiver and it's not from the cold.

* * *

 

You don't relax until you're in Waterfall and out of sight from the Riverperson. Holy shit. They've known all this time. They remember. They know so much more than they should. Why?

" _\---- are you ok?"_ Frisk's concern is obvious. " _Is it that bad that the Riverperson knows? They don't seem dangerous._ "

"No, it's not. I don't think it is anyway. It just spooked me, that's all." You don't want to scare Frisk by telling them about your private "conversation" with the grim reaper looking being. You'll tell Sans about it for sure, maybe even Grillby, but not Frisk. They don't need the extra stress or the extra guilt.

" _Are you ready to talk to Undyne?_ "

"Not even a little bit. So let's go." For the second time, you walk towards her front door and hope that she isn't home. This time, you don't have a buffer. You are the buffer. Once you're in front of her door, you pause right before you knock. "Frisk, if she attacks me you run. Go to Snowdin. Got it?"

They nod. " _I don't think she'll attack. This is...honorable? I think that's the word._ " You hope that they are right.

**Knock knock knock**. Three, so she doesn't think it's Sans.

"Who's there?" Shit she's home. You pull Frisk partially behind you and don't answer, you just knock again. "Eugh, fine. Fuck, I'm coming."

When the door swings open, both you and her freeze. She's dressed casually (thank god, you might have wet yourself had she been getting ready for a patrol).

"Umm...You're Captain of the Royal Guard right?" Undyne nods, crimson hair going everywhere. Well, you aren't dead even though you're pretty sure she might have punctured her own gums with her teeth with how stiff her jaw is. "I'm ---- and this is Frisk. I want to talk to you about something."

"You're human. Hell, you both are." She sounds shocked. Possibly a bit confused. Yet again, you are too. How are you not a kabob right now?

"Yeah."

"Why are you both here? Don't you realize how fucking stupid this is? I thought that - I thought that those were rumors and now you're both here."

She must have wanted a challenge. Poor Undyne, you almost laugh. She's so thrown off her game that she doesn't know what to do.

"I want to talk to you about something. Can we come in? We're unarmed."

"Psh, as if I'm worried about two punks like you doing any harm." She seems to remember herself a bit there, but steps aside surprisingly. "Come in."

You usher in Frisk first, before discreetly offering Undyne the note. You didn't want Frisk to know about you trying to re-strike your deal with Undyne. All you'd scrawled on the note was something about asking her to hear you out, not to harm Frisk, and that if she'd do this and it didn't work, she could have your SOUL. Basically, it would make zero sense without talking to you.

Her one visible eye gives you a once over as she looks confused. You've really thrown her for a loop. By her not immediately realizing that you were real and that her friends' had betrayed her in one swoop, she was reasonable. Or maybe she just wasn't awake enough to fight with you yet.

"Have a seat," she finally growls out in a more Undyne-like fashion. "And tell me why I shouldn't kill you both where you stand."

" _We want to help!"_ Frisk speaks up.

"Heh. Helping involves dying, kid."

"I want to talk to Dr. Alphys," you say. "From what I understand, the other SOULs belong to kids, right?"

"That's right." Undyne looks uncomfortable about this fact. Good. "Why does that matter when freedom is on the line?"

"I'm not a child. My SOUL is different than Frisk's. I want to try to help you guys without dying. Grillby mentioned that if anyone could figure out a way, that it'd be the royal scientist." Your fear is making it harder to talk than usual. You feel like there's a giant weight pressing down on your neck. At least last run you'd had Paps to ensure that you didn't wind up dead. Now, there's nothing stopping her from killing you where you stand except for her potentially not wanting to clean up human blood off of her floor. 

"So why are you here?" You're glad that you'd already come up with a lie about this. Telling Undyne that you don't want to ruin her and Alphys' romance probably wouldn't go over well at all. "Why bother with science? I could just take your SOUL now and break the barrier."

"You guys don't seem to like killing," you say. "And I figured that if the doctor was willing to work with me, I should get the leader of the Royal Guard on my side for the time being."

Undyne looks uncomfortable again. You need to get rid of the kid, now. "Frisk, why don't you go see Blooky for a few minutes?" Frisk looks shocked.

" _No. What if-_ "

"I'll be fine."

" _No! I want to be here._ " Their voice is angry in your head.

"What was my condition to bringing you here?" They groan. "Go. See. Blooky," you enunciate. "So that Undyne and I can talk."

" _But-_ "

"I won't hurt her while you're gone," Undyne promises. "If we can't agree, I'll wait until tomorrow to come find you both. The underground is awfully small now that I know you're here."

Frisk looks torn. You feel for them – they were use to this being their show. They decide, apparently figuring out that if they didn't listen to you now than there would be issues later on, to leave but not before holding out their pinky to Undyne.

" _Pinky promise._ " They sound so serious.

Undyne holds out her pinky and locks it with theirs. "Promise." Frisk nods before walking out the door. Now it's just you and the scariest woman in the underground. "So you're willing to die if this doesn't work?"

Undyne sure doesn't waste anytime. "Yes. I've thought a lot about it. You all being trapped down here... It isn't right." Undyne scoffs. "I know, no shit. I want to help, but I want to help without dying if at all possible."

There's a few moments of tense silence before Undyne speaks. "Well, let's go meet Alphys." Huh? That's it? Undyne takes pity (or amusement, or maybe both) at the look on your face and elaborates. "It takes balls to come to the captain's house to try and strike a deal even though you having basically nothing to offer. As long as you and the kid don't hurt anyone and Alphys thinks of experiments to potentially use your SOUL to break the barrier without killing you, I won't tell Asgore that you exist."

You sigh in relief. "Thank you."

"Don’t thank me yet. Go tell your kid where we're going and let's go."

"Not my kid, just kind of adopted them when we fell together," you explain. "Just please... don't tell anyone but Alphys about me being willing to die."

She nods.

* * *

 

The two of you walk to Hotland together in a companionable silence. Apparently approaching Undyne head on was the way to go. Thinking about your limited reactions with past Undyne it makes sense. She did always seem to like you the most when you were honest, upfront, and direct. Once you hit Hotland and see a snoozing Sans your heart nearly stops. This... this wasn't going to end well. Fuck.

"Son of a bitch," Undyne grumbles under her breath. "Can he take his job serious for one day? Just one? Is that asking too much?" She sighs, walking directly up to his sentry stand. "SANS!" At the same time she shrieks his name, she slams her fists on the table. Sans jumps awake, nearly falling out of his seat. It'd be hilarious to see last timeline. Now, well...

"what's up ba-" He stops when he sees you. The lights in his sockets go between you and Undyne and you catch the small glare that appears. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. You're going to hear about this later. "where's frisk?"

Undyne, if she hadn't caught on to his sudden change in demeanor at first, catches on now. "Oh my God. You knew about the humans! You... you care!" 

"Frisk is with Blooky," you say. "We're just going to talk to Alphys without them." His sockets narrow slightly at you before he relaxes, sighing.

"i'm done here in an hour. want me to take them home?"

"Please."

"Oh my God," Undyne is watching you two with interest. "You two are involved, aren't you? No wonder you suck as a sentry Sans, you're more interested in fucking humans." She shakes her head as she chuckles to herself. "Does Papyrus know?"

You both give a tiny nod. "Oh. My. God." She laughs. Did you... Did you just break Undyne? "I can't handle this. Sans, stay awake for the next hour or go work for Mettaton for the week, am I clear?"

"crystal," he says. "when you're done, meet me in my workshop?" Fuck, you're in trouble. You just nod and follow Undyne.

Whatever just happened may spell trouble for you and Sans, but at least Undyne seems to be having a great time. For the rest of your walk she switches between cackling like a madwoman and mumbling about crazy humans and skeletons. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! Reader didn't have to fight Undyne again. Undyne strikes me as a monster that is all about respect and honor, so facing her head on by just going to her place seemed like the way to go. I also want to take a second to happy dance about finally (re)introducing the spoopy Riverperson. So...happy dance!
> 
>  
> 
> ~~plus i wasn't writing another fight scene with undyne. dear god, that would be boring to write, let alone read.~~


	37. SOUL Talk

Seeing the lab wasn't any less scary now. In fact, it was even more terrifying after everything. Underneath this place was another lab, a lab that houses Chara's SOUL. You feel another shudder wrack your body. Thankfully, Undyne is in front of you and doesn't notice.

Inside the lab, Alphys is waiting to meet you. Your SOUL thrums in happiness when you see her. You've missed the dork.

"H-hello ----. I'm A-Alphys." She extends a yellow clawed hand out toward you that you eagerly accept. 

"Pleased to meet you," you grin at her. 

"W-w-where's Frisk?" She asks and you pretend to be surprised.

"Oh, I'm s-sorry! I've been k-keeping an eye on you both." Undyne looks annoyed, but you're thankful that it's not the fury from last time. What's made this time so different for her? "I h-have c-cameras all over the underground," she finishes explaining.

"Oh. Well, erm, Frisk is with Napstablook. I figured it would be best if we talked alone today." Alphys looks intrigued.

"W-what do you have in mind?"

"My SOUL is different than Frisk's. I saw both of them in the ruins. I know that technically my SOUL is supposed to be private, but I think you should see it." Alphys and Undyne both look flustered at the prospect. "Please, for science."

Undyne nods and using her right hand, gently pulls your SOUL out. The kaleidoscope of colors twirl before your eyes again. The ugly crack is still there looking, if anything, more pronounced. It's probably just that it's been a while since you've seen it, you rationalize.

"Whoa. This is different. Alph, what do you think?" Undyne sounds shocked.

"A SOUL with more than one t-trait and a crack? H-have you disproved color theory or is this normal for adult humans?" Alphys is in science heaven and you know it. You try to keep your face blank.

"What...what does the crack mean?" You finally ask.

"I don't know," Alphys says and you watch your SOUL dull at the words. So this was new. "Monster SOULs split before we die usually, but I've never seen a fractured one before. We'll run some tests to see if it's even safe to test your SOUL any."

"No," you spit out. "Just do it. I'm going to die either way so..." You shrug. What did it matter in the long run? You feel apathetic. Ruined. Undyne looks regretful as she drops your SOUL. Alphys mumbles that she'll be right back, leaving you with the fish monster.

"Wipe that self-pity off your face," Undyne barks at you once Alphys is gone. "That mark means you must be made of tougher stuff than this. Your SOUL is hurt and you're standing here. I don't know a single monster that would be able to do that, so get your head out of your ass."

You sigh, allowing yourself one more second of pity. Undyne is right. You're made of tougher stuff than this. "Sorry. I'm better now."

"Good. Like I said, it takes guts to do what you're doing and I admire that. I'd hate to think that something like that stopping you."

The two of you wait for Alphys together. She hadn't gone downstairs so where had she gone? You're nervous, but you decide to try and talk to Undyne this time. She still puts you on edge, but maybe the way to stop that was to just keep talking?

"So I've been training with Papyrus in the mornings." She doesn't say anything. "He's pretty tough. He whips my ass, that's for sure. Why... why won't you let him into the guard?"

She doesn't acknowledge you. You're starting to think that you'd screwed up. Damn, why hadn't you just kept your mouth shut? "Are you serious? Two humans come through and he befriends you both. He's strong, yes. So strong and optimistic. The problem is that he's too optimistic. I don't even have it in me to tell him that being in the guard means killing humans."

You decide to push your luck. "Is there anything else he could do? Be in charge of training or something? Have him intern or something?" Undyne shoots you a nasty look, but you interrupt her before she can say anything. "I get it and I agree. He's too nice for his own good. It's just that he's getting discouraged. It's... strange to see him disheartened."

Undyne sighs. "I know. I'll try and come up with something." You can't think of anything else to say, but it doesn't matter. This is the longest and least tense conversation that you've ever had with her without Alphys present. More progress.

It's only a few minutes more before the door to the lab opens back up.

"Why hello darling! A human that's volunteering to be experimented on? Aren't you interesting." Oh, fuck. You know that voice. Mettaton. You feel yourself throw a grin on much like Sans'. You've never quite forgiven him for his... _enthusiasm_ when you first met him. 

"Hi Mettaton! It's a pleasure to finally meet you." You try to act like you're gushing. 

"And she's a fan!" The screen on his chest flashes a heart. Yuck. "Alphys, I thought you said there was two humans?"

"The other is a kid," you growl out. "They won't be taken advantage of." Undyne looks approvingly at you while Alphys looks like she wants to crawl in a hole. 

"I would never take advantage of a fan!" Bullshit. "I just want to interview you both! Not to air until the barrier is broken of course."

"Like I said. They won't be taken advantage of." You fold your arms across your chest, hoping that he'll get the message that this isn't up for debate. 

Mettaton heaves an incredibly dramatic robotic sigh. It's the best acting of his you've seen to date. "Fine. To the point then." You feel a tugging at your SOUL – what the fuck? - and Mettaton pulls it free. Oh HELL NO. "How interesting! Are you sure I can't record this Alphys?"

"I'm s-sure Mettaton." Seeing the look on your face, Alphys decides to explain. "I want to see what your SOUL can do. Since I made Mettaton's body, some of his m-magic is linked with mine so I can help make sure that you don't actually get h-hurt while I observe. Is, uh, is that a-alright?" You sigh and nod. Without a doubt, you'd rather spar with Undyne.

You and Mettaton "fight". You show off that you do actually know how to maneuver your SOUL around and Alphys has Mettaton (carefully) see what damage you can take. You even actually, with some instruction from Undyne, actually engage him a time or two. After a few minutes, you're worn out. "So darling, that skeleton? Really?" You freeze. "Out of all the monsters in the underground, you're seeing him?" Anger pulses in you. How dare he! "I mean, he would be the only one that would have you. With a SOUL like that... Well, it tells a lot about a person." Your anger cools instantly into numbness.

That was a low blow.

"M-Mettaton that's enough!" Alphys sounds furious. “I am SO sorry ----. I wanted to see how your SOUL reacted to mood shifts but Not. Like. This.” There was science Alphys.

“You disgusting bag of bolts.” Did you say that out loud? Nope. It was Undyne. "I should yank that body of yours apart so that you have to be a ghost for a month. We don't attack the state of ANYONE'S SOUL." Mettaton was a ghost like Napstablook? Interesting. 

“Relax, captain, don't get your gills in knot. ----, my apologies darling, I didn't mean a word of it.” You just glare. There is nothing nice that you can say and he sighs. “I guess that was a low blow. ----, I know you must be angry. I really don't know what you see in that lazy skeleton, but your SOUL is gorgeous.” With a wave, he wheels off just like that.

“What. The. Fuck.” You finally find your voice. You're really glad Frisk wasn't here. 

* * *

 

Back in Snowdin, you don't go directly to Sans’ workshop. You go straight to Grillby’s. After a day like this, which doesn't look like it's done being a shit show, you need a drink. 

“Oh? I don't open for another hour ----.” Grillby is polishing the bar when you strut in.

“You should lock the goddamn door then.” Grillby laughs at your disgruntled tone. “Sorry, it's not you. Can I get a drink? A strong one?”

“At three in the afternoon?” His tone is fake-condescending as he goes to pour you one. “What happened?”

“I met Undyne and Alphys today. Got in a fight with Mettaton. Now I'm about to have to deal with a pissed off Sans. Booze break is mandatory.”

Grillby gives a sympathetic nod and not only pours you a drink, but places the two bottles that make it on the bar top. " _Sounds like you need more than just a drink_." He's speaking his native language again. There's a small difference in his tone in it – his "real" voice is deeper, naturally huskier. It's calming. For the first time since Mettaton's nasty jab, you feel yourself relax and the numbness fades a tad. That remark had stung. Still stings, actually.

"Grillby? Can I ask a bit of a personal question?"

" _Of course_."

You have a feeling that this about to be five kinds of awkward. "You saw my SOUL before and now we’re some odd sort of semi-bonded, right?" You take a deep breath. Here goes nothing. "Can you sense or see my SOUL now?"

Grillby looks mildly uncomfortable. " _Look about seeing your SOUL... I'm sorry about that. I haven't seen a human SOUL since Joan's and I took advantage of that._ " He reaches to scratch at the back of his neck. " _I shouldn't have done that. It was a gross invasion of privacy and -_ "

"Grillby," your face is heating up now. Great. "That's not what I'm asking. Now that I know a bit more about what happened, yes it was awkward, but it's in the past now. Can you sense anything different about it?" You've been telling yourself that what he did was the same thing as a good friend eyeing you in a two-piece bathing suit once. Uncalled for and uncomfortable, yes. Creepy and friendship ending? No. If that wasn't what it was the equivalent of, you didn't want to know. 

" _Really? You're not angry?_ " You shake your head. It was in the past and there was no avoiding it and you tell Grillby that. " _Thank you. I've wanted to apologize for that since I saw you again the first time. I just didn't know how_."

"Well there isn't exactly a rule book on 'demented dead human torments the underground, need to inject elemental with human determination to unlock memories that were locked by the previous fucked up royal scientist'. If there was, I'd read it based on name alone." He gives a dark chuckle at that.  

Grilllby closes his eyes, concentrating on something. You recognize the look from when he tried to use his magic on what contained Chara's SOUL. " _I can feel you if I really look for you. Not like I could feel Joan, but I can definitely sense you. I can pick up your emotions easily. Nothing we didn't already know. I don't feel anything different about your SOUL though. Why?_ "

You lick your lips. So he can't tell. You have more than half a mind to go "ha, no reason!" And deflect. Grillby would know you were lying, but he was a good enough friend not to press. You don't want to lie. Hell, you don't want to lie to Sans either, but here's someone that gets your awkward predicament of being involved in a monster/human relationship. Panic is filling you, you're scared. You shouldn't say anything about this.

"I have a crack in my SOUL now," you blurt out. There. It's out.

" _You... You what?_ " Your friend drops the glass he was cleaning. " _Fuck._ " He quickly uses his fire magic to not only pick it up, but he manages to reassemble it too. Too cool. " _Oi! ----, are you alright? How did you get a crack in your SOUL?_ "

Oh. Right. Serious conversation ----, not the time to oggle over magic. "When I died from Chara stabbing me in the heart, my SOUL tried to save me I guess. When the world reset, I was left with a giant crack right down the center." Grillby is directly in front of you, concentrating again.

" _I can't feel anything even knowing what I'm looking for_ ," he finally says. " _You should tell Sans_."

"No! I don't want him to know that I'm -" You stop suddenly.

" _Fuck, ----. It's not a reflection on you. It's not some metaphorical thing. SOULs only break before their owner falls down._ " Grillby huffs suddenly, flames crackling angrily before they suddenly calm. " _Look, you should tell him. No one knows SOULs like he does. He was -is- brilliant when it comes to SOULs and he knows it. At least consider it?_ "

"I just... SOULs are important to you guys, right? What if he takes it as I'm broken?"

Grillby rolls his eyes and you feel a sting of hurt. He pushes the two half-empty bottles over to you, along with another glass. " _Go talk to Sans. You don't need to tell him about your SOUL yet if you really don't want to, but stop stalling_. _I have a bar I need to open._ "

Grillby's right. More self-pity from you. What is going on with you today? You grab the bottles and the extra glass, feeling slightly like an alcoholic, and head towards the door to face your fate.

" _\----. As a bartender, I'm not supposed to tell secrets and I won't. Has it ever occurred to you that Sans thinks he's broken too?_ " You stare. No, it hadn't. " _Tell Sans about the bond between us at least. Give him something to work with._ "

Thanking Grillby (as he makes sure to tell you he wants those glasses back tomorrow at the latest), you make your way towards the workshop where Sans is waiting. It isn't until you're pulling the key from your neck that you realize that, yet again, Grillby's making you tell Sans something that might make him mad. Fiery little bastard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, um, I finally really _looked_ at the stats thing at the bottom of my story. 399 kudos and over 6,000 hits (which totally aren't me????) - I'm floored. Thank you guys so so much!   
>  Over 85,000 words on my end? What the actual fuck am I doing with my life? 
> 
> So anyway, the Papyrus companion piece is almost done! I'm planning a few more "extra" chapters to throw in, so I'm just going to ask: Do you guys want me to just throw it up on Tumblr and post a link or just make a companion fic for the extras? Right now I'm in the planning stages of a pre-underground Grillby chapter and one from when Sans was an intern to Gaster.


	38. Is There an 'Us'?

Sans is waiting for you on that stupid beanbag, flipping through one of his journals. When you walk in, he instantly snaps it shut. 

"i thought you weren't coming." Ouch, that stings. You don't say anything, just put the alcohol on the counter. He snorts. "drinking already?"

At the judgment in his tone, you flash him a dirty look. "Look, I know you're pissed. I get it. I've had a hell of a day already though and I needed a drink before I faced you on top of that." For a second, you see hurt flash across his face. "Want a drink?" He just nods.

This is uncomfortable. You hate feeling like you're on edge around Sans. Like he's one second away from screaming at you, yanking you back by your clothes - No. Sans would never. 

"what happened?" When you bite your lip, you see Sans slouch out of the corner of your eye. "what happened to get you so worked up?" You're surprised when you hand Sans a drink and he pats the beanbag between his legs. "i don't want to fight. just talk."

You'd been ready for another argument with Sans over this. Not just acceptance. History tells you to be cautious, but you do sit and lean back on him. Sans isn't going to hurt you, you have to mentally chide yourself. "so what happened?"

"Mettaton happened," you finally growl out. "He's such a bastard." Sans snorts behind you and you feel yourself start to relax.

"why didn't you tell me what you were doing?" When you lean your head back to look at him, everything in you winces. There's no anger in his features, just hurt.

"I thought you'd try to stop me. That you'd pull some stupid 'for my own safety' house-arrest again," you admit to him. He sighs.

"thought so." You take an awkward sip of your drink while Sans drowns his. Lazily, he uses his magic to make himself another drink. "look, i know i was an absolute bastard about it before. i do want you to be safe, but i won't stop you anymore unless it involves something really dumb. i want to help you." He nuzzles you then, pressing a kiss to your temple, and your SOUL absolutely melts. You'd been worked up over nothing. "i want you to trust me."

"I do. I'm sorry." You press a kiss to his jawbone and he leans into you.

"so how'd it go?" He sounds nervous for some reason.

"Not bad. Catching Undyne off guard was the way to go. She was actually kinder and spoke more to me today than she ever did last timeline. Maybe it's a respect thing? It was good to see Alphys again before she went and got Mettaton." You spit out Mettaton's name. "I know it's a different timeline, but I can't get over how he got in my face last time."

"you shouldn't," Sans says. "he's crafty. he's never not tried to kill frisk for his own gain and i doubt he'll hesitate to try and kill you too. never at first though. just be on guard if you see him again. we should get you a phone actually."

"I have a phone already. Or had. The screen got smashed when I fell." You feel Sans' eyes on you now. 

"babe, seriously?"

"Um, yeah?" Why do you feel like you just said something stupid?

"you've had a phone since day one and the only thing wrong with it is a broken screen? i can fix that easily." Oh, shit. You do feel dumb. At your sheepish grin, he just shakes his head and grins. "give it to me and i'll fix it. i guess you've had other things on your mind. so, you're a little lab rat again, huh?"

"Yep. Got put through the paces today."

He doesn't say anything, he just pulls you closer to him. His fingers find you and are drawing small designs on your shoulder and hip, relaxing you completely. After the busy day, you let your mind go blank. "where do you see this going?" Hmm? 

"What? Oh, um, you mean us?" Smooth. Real smooth. Luckily for you, he laughs. "Don't you judge me, Judge Sans. I'll have you know you are completely relaxing."

"wouldn't dream of it. but, yeah. us." Oh man. This talk already? You aren't ready for this.

"I don't know honestly. I've just been enjoying this." You hear a soft "hmm" behind you at your admission. "It's not that I don't care Sans. It's just that this is new again. I haven't felt like this in a long time." There. To the point without saying 'Hey I'm falling in love with you and I don't know how I feel about that let alone what to do about it'.

He doesn't say anything for a few minutes and you think that maybe he'll let the subject drop. "look, i don't want to pressure you. i know that this has to be weird for a few different reasons for you. i just want to know where we stand in your mind i guess." Nope. Not letting it drop.

You inadvertently tense. Yep, you're having this conversation already. "Where do we stand in yours?" You hate yourself for deflecting again. It's apparently his turn to tense. You start work on how to word your apology to him in your head.

"i'd want to see your SOUL soon if you'd let me. that's what i want this to be." You feel your breath catch.

"What if we aren't compatible then? Or if it's impossible to tell since I'm human?" Your heart is pounding in your ears now.

"well, gaster always told me that i was stupidly stubborn and never did things the 'right' way, whatever that means." You laugh with him and the tension dissipates. 

You relax into him again. His magically summoned body is incredibly comfortable to lean against. Ugh, don't get distracted. What could you say to that? He deserves a real answer, not a deflection.

"I'm not ready yet," you finally say. "I want that too though." He lets out a happy sound.

"i'm glad." His fingers restart their drawing on you as you down the rest of your drink now. "another one?" When you nod, he uses his magic again.

Now is when you should tell him about your SOUL. It's the perfect time to. 'Hey, just so you know, my SOUL has a crack in it.' Just say it.

"There's something I want to tell you though."

You can't.

"what's that?"

"My SOUL," something in you is screaming at you to stop. "It's different. " You feel him shudder beneath you. This was probably cruel. Telling him about your SOUL, but not being willing to let him see it.

"There's something else though. We just pieced it together last night so please don't get super pissed."

"i know that i'm not the reason you say that, but can you stop assuming the worst with me? grillby's the _hothead_ , not me." You swallow loudly and ignore his joke.

"It's about Grillby actually. We're connected because of the determination experiment." Sans tenses again, stopping his doodles, but doesn't say anything. "He says it's kind of like a bond, but not really."

"how?" Sans' tone is clipped and you know that he's showing self-control because of you right now. You appreciate it.  "how is it like being bonded?"

"We can both read each other better. He can sense where I am apparently if he tries hard enough and," you falter for a second. "I can understand him now." You wait for the fallout, but it doesn't come. Sans just sighs again.

"i knew there'd be side effects. all things considered, those at least aren't bad ones." You twist to look at him.

"You aren't mad? Wait, how'd you know there'd be side effects?"

"nope. a bit jealous maybe, but not mad." He smiles at you and you feel the truth in his words. You don't miss him ignoring your second question. You don't push it, it's not like you're completely open either.

"Jealous, huh?" Under your gaze, he's cheekbones go a light blue and he shrugs. "You know you have no reason to be jealous right? Grillby may be _hotstuff_ , but I like my men punny and bony." 

"you have no standards."

"Psh, I have standards. Just zero redeeming qualities of my own, so it's **you** that has no standards." He snorts and you press a kiss to his cheek. "Really though, I have a great _bone-friend_ right here."

"you saying you want to _bone_?" His voice is teasing, but you know it's an act. He's trying to play off the serious conversation now, but you refuse to let him.

"No. Well, maybe." You pause to maneuver yourself to straddle him. "What I'm saying is I have a great boyfriend who happens to be made of bone." You add emphasis to 'boyfriend' and 'bone' to drive the point home. It works.

Sans looks positively floored, sockets wide and mouth hanging open a bit. "I only want you, Sans. I'm serious about you, whatever that entails." You watch the small white dots search your face. He's hopeful, you realize at the same moment that you realize that he thought that this might be casual to you. When he smiles up at you, a deeper blush on his cheeks, you know he found whatever he was looking for.

"you're serious? serious about me?"

"Yes." He pulls you down to kiss you as soon as you get the word out. You let the world melt away for a minute. Everything else can wait. When you finally separate to breathe (you make a mental note to one day make him actually answer how he works) you can tell that, for now, any and all doubts of his have vanished.

He wants you to trust him. Well, he wants to see proof that you trust him. There is something you've been wanting to talk to him about. Outwardly, you try to keep smiling and being reassuring. Inwardly, you were debating telling him about the charm around your neck. If he'd seen it, he'd never said anything about it. You did tell yourself that you would mention it...

"I do trust you, you know. There's something I've wanted to talk to you about for a while, I just keep getting distracted." Intrigue colors his face. He looks more open than he ever has with you. He was still guarded around you before, you realize. He may have let some of his guard down before, but this is the first time that you're seeing just him.

It makes your SOUL squirm in a good way.

Ugh, stop getting distracted. "What do you know about the Delta Rune?"

You feel bad when the peacefulness leaves his features, replaced by pure disdain. "not much other than it blocks my fucking magic. why?" Hands shaking, you show him the charm around your neck.

"yeah, what about it?"

"I got it last timeline from Tori. It reset with me." Sans' sockets go wide once your words register.

"it what?"

Taking a deep breath, you slide to his side and tell him about it.

* * *

 

"holy shit." Sans is examining the small charm between his bony digits. "so chara said that this was how you weren't killed? that it contains void magic? and you think it helps you sense things when you're in danger?"

You just nod. Sans had listened quietly throughout your short explanation, complete with your observations. "holy shit. do you mind if i look at it? magically i mean?" You go to take it off when he stops you, saying to keep it on. You feel like you're being examined. When his left eye snaps into that colorful iris and his right pupil disappears, you know you are. 

"i don't want you to take this off. what if it's what kept you here when the reset happened? it's definitely made of void magic..." Sans is all over the place. "so you first noticed it with undyne right?"

"Yeah, once I was pretty hurt."

"huh. and chara knew what it was." Sans sighs and drops the charm, eyes returning to normal. "don't tell anyone else about this, ok? i feel like we're missing something and i don't even know where to start."

"So keep it secret and keep it safe?"

"oh my god. seriously?" He lets out a guffaw at your ridiculousness. That was the point of course. 

"Seriously. So can we talk more about this later? It's getting late and I'm getting hungry."

Sans nods."i'll come up with some experiments and tests tonight for it, frodo. just don't throw it into the lava in hotland unless you start hearing voices."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay adulting! I've had this chapter done since Monday and had a grand ole time giggling about how many of you thought that Sans was going to lose his shit/avoid Reader. Instead I went with some good old fashioned problem-solving communication. 
> 
> The Papyrus chapter is done and I'm almost done with a second bonus chapter (that was written because - you know what, I won't spoil it). Once that one is done I'll post them both together as the start to kick the companion piece off :)


	39. Reconciliation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **The first portion of this chapter is DARK. Mentions of child abuse and past rape/non-con/death. They are brief, but I know it's not something everyone wants to read about. Summery in the end notes if you want to skip 'til after the first break.**

When you fall asleep that night, safe in the Inn with Frisk, Chara is waiting for you. Even though they look like the monstrosity (you're still not sure if that's a slur or not) that killed you, they don't scare you this time. Black tar oozes from their eyes and mouth, which is turned in a frown.

" _I wasn't always like this, you know._ "

"Like what? Creepy and evil?"

" _I was a normal kid once. Then humans took everything from me. I summoned the strength to run away, but tripped and fell down a hole in my haste._ " They sigh, red eyes meeting yours. " _Hurry up and remember these dreams will you? I'm tired of being stuck here_."

"Stuck where?"

" _The void of course_." Your shock must show on your face since they keep talking. " _The void is huge, ----. That comedian doesn't know a fraction about what lurks in this place. If he did, he wouldn't be stupid enough to still cut through it. So tell me, how does it feel to be a guinea pig again?_ "

"Why should I talk to you? Hell, why are you here?"

" _What else is there to do? I'm here because you intrigue me too. At first, I thought that fool scientist had lost his goddamn mind when he started to fixate on you. After thinking about it though, you're interesting me_." Suddenly, Chara is less than three feet away from you, circling you slowly. The black tar on their face looks like tear streaks, you notice. " _Like I said when we first met face-to-face, I saw into your SOUL. You're like me. We both had our minds and bodies violated. Yet you... you have hope_."

" _Why?"_

You remember the sickened feeling you had when they'd mentioned that you were similar. It’s back, but mixed with pity. "You.. You were raped?"

" _I'm from a different time. A time when, if planned correctly, a man could murder a family for revenge and beat and rape that family's children in front of them and get away with it. I was just a girl then. Monsters hadn't seen a human in fifty years when I fell. When I fell, Charlotte died. When I fell, I became so much more_."

Your SOUL aches for them. God. If Chara had been underground for a few years before they died – you feel sick. They must have been so, so, so young. " _I don't want your fucking pity_."

For the first time, you're compelled to answer them. "I wasn't a child when it happened. It wasn't a random act of violence. It was someone I was romantically involved with and they... Well, they weren't who I thought they were. They had their claws in me for so long, tricked me into thinking I deserved it, so I stayed."

" _So you understand. Humanity is evil. Humanity shouldn't be allowed to live._ " They stop circling you. " _You'd make a great companion to me. Even better than Frisk. Sure, Frisk knows hurt. But you and I... We know pain intimately. We know what it's like to shut down, to be a shell of a person_."

"No way in hell."

" _I don't want to massacre monsters, you know. Frisk just doesn't leave me a choice. It's all or nothing to make them see my power. If you join me, we could break the barrier with Frisk's SOUL and destroy humanity. Get my SOUL back. Free the monsters from tyranny for good_." They extend their right arm to you, hand outstretched. " _What do you think? Do we have a deal?_ "

You glare and spit at their feet. "Go off yourself." Chara doesn't get angry like you expect. They laugh to your surprise.

" _Whatever you say. I'll be seeing you, friend._ " You shudder at the promise.

 

* * *

 

Waking up is a process. You feel like you've been swimming in the void, which is impossible. It's been days since you've taken a shortcut with Sans. You don't remember dreaming either, but at least you didn't have another nightmare.

" _\----, can I go with you to Alphys' today? Please?_ " You yawn as Frisk mentally assaults you as soon as they notice that you're awake. You don't answer at first, taking the time to stretch and let your bones pop back into place. You clearly got some serious sleep even though you don't feel well-rested at all.

"Sure thing Frisk," you yawn out. God, you need coffee. Coffee and food. You'd been making Papyrus buy you guys fruit and ingredients for granola bars now, but... "Frisk can you grab some gold from the bag and go get me a cinnamon roll while I get dressed? Yes, you can have one too." You read their expression easily.

" _Yep! Be right back!_ " You grin as the already fully dressed Frisk grabs some gold and runs out the door and giggle at the sound of them stomping down the stairs. Into the shower you go. You strip as you go, not caring.

The warm water is amazing on your skin this morning. You yawn again as you go through the motions of cleaning up. Man, you're dragging ass today. You hear Frisk come back in, but you don't rush out. You don't want to break it to them that their 'school work' is coming with them yet. When you do finally come back out, wearing nothing but a towel, you're surprised to see that Frisk isn't the only one in the room.

Sans is sitting on the bed with them, holding two cups. You're torn for a second. Should you feign modesty? Frisk is just a kid. What would Tori do? No. There's no use hiding your relationship with Sans. You hope you won't have to have the sex talk with a kid (god, you'd pay good money for that question to be directed toward Tori and not you), but you don't want Frisk to think that nudity is weird.

"'Morning Sans." He had been expecting you to freak out based on the blush on his face and his slightly stuttered out 'good morning'. "That better be coffee."

"it is." He offers you a cup and you greedily take it as you -quickly- pick out clothes for the day.

"So what's got you up so early lazybones?" You call out as you go into the bathroom to get dressed.

"working the hotdog stand in a bit which is absolute _wurst_. wanted to grab that phone of yours so I could have something to do today." Frisk and you both giggle at the pun. "you two going to hotland already?"

"Yeah, Alphys asked me to come early today. I bet this is the only time she wants us there early though." Once you're dressed (man, why couldn't you have at least fallen with some mascara in your pocket?) you grab the bag from the floor and toss Sans your poor smart phone. "I don't have a charger though."

Sans grins at you. "oh we solved the corded charger issues a long time ago. don't worry about that, you can use mine."

" _Shouldn't you actually work at work Sans?_ "

Sans looks hurt at the mere suggestion before he sticks out his tongue at Frisk. "make me, kid." Frisk startles at the blue tongue and you and Sans both laugh at their small jerk backwards. "actually, why don't you hitch a ride with me? i have some friends that want to see you again ----."

"The Blasters?" Frisk pales and you feel bad for being excited at the prospect of seeing them.

"kid, relax. they want to meet you too, for real now." Frisk looks unsure which means that you're unsure too.

Wait. The Riverperson. How could you have forgotten to tell him that yesterday?

"Um, so I forgot to tell you something yesterday actually. Sans, the Riverperson remembers." Sans stares blankly at you.

"remembers what? how to be a pain in the ass?" Frisk giggles at Sans' loose tongue.

"They remembered me and knew about Chara." Sans' sockets go dark and both you and Frisk flinch.

"they what?" His voice is low, dangerous and Frisk -with speed you've never seen before- flings themselves into your arms, burying their face in your chest. Instantly, he shifts back to normal. "shit. my bad frisk, it's not you. really." Frisk shudders in your arms and you feel helpless. You knew there'd be problems between Sans and Frisk, but you didn't think you'd ever cause one. Even unintentionally. 

"I'm sorry Frisk, I shouldn't have brought that up in front of you. I wasn't thinking." You ruffle their hair. After a minute, they relax and pull away.

" _You guys don't have to treat me like I'm going to break you know_." When Frisk looks up, their entire face is red. No tears though. Are they embarrassed for being scared? " _I didn’t mean to worry you both_." To your surprise Frisk opens their arms towards Sans, who is stilling sitting awkwardly on the bed. He looks uncomfortable for a moment, but he does open his arms. Frisk practically flies in them.

Sans looks up at you, looking lost at this. You just smile in what you hope is an encouraging way. Oddly, you think that this may have needed to happen. The two of them tended to dance around each other, avoiding the subject of their shared history. For once, Frisk had been forced to face it and Sans had to acknowledge it.

"so, uh, i think you guys should let me take you at least for today. i want to talk to the riverperson before you guys ride with them again." He looks sheepishly at you over Frisk as if expecting you to freak out.

"I'm cool with it. What do you think kiddo? Void or walk?"

They pull back from Sans, still looking at him. " _They won't hurt me, right?_ "

"nah, even if they wanted to i wouldn't let 'em."

Frisk throws a brave look onto their face. " _Void_."

* * *

 

For the first time, when the void swallows the three of you whole, you don't flinch when the sensation of drowning washes over you. You just accept it and it's gone in record time. Frisk doesn't fair so well. They sputter, cough, and shiver while squeezing your hand tightly. They'd taken Sans' warning to keep one hand on either you or him to heart apparently. "the void is a big place," he'd said, "don't want you getting lost in there." Why did you already know that?

" _That's... that's awful. What WAS that?_ " Frisk leans into your side –and by default into Sans' who has his right arm around your waist- for support. " _How are you ok sis? It's like you didn't even feel it!_ "

"she's spent more time with me in the void than you," Sans says, but you can see that he's looking to make sure that you are actually fine. "but that's the void. when you pass through quickly you usually don't notice that it has substance to it – that's why i always had you close your eyes kiddo. think of that feeling as this place's gravity."

Frisk is looking up at you and Sans so you get to watch them think about this. " _That makes sense, I guess_." Sans gives Frisk another few seconds to adjust before he double checks that they do want to meet the Blasters. " _I do! I've never really seen them before. It was always..._ " Their voice trails off. It was always Chara.

Just like the last time, Sans snaps his fingers and the eight Blasters appear out of nowhere. You jump a bit (seeing creatures so huge come out of nowhere is fucking surprising even if you are expecting it) and Frisk lets out a whimper as you feel a head bury into your side. Sans reaches out his left hand and the alpha comes over, placing its muzzle under his hand.

"frisk, it's fine." For the first time, you see the bond between Sans and these creatures. It's... It's really something. "sweetheart, you too." Sans' voice pulls you from your thoughts. Oh, yeah. You lift your hand and touch the giant skull again. To your great surprise, it leans into your touch.

"Frisk," you whisper and squeeze their hand. "It's fine. Look."

You feel them shift next to you so they can watch. The alpha is eyeing Frisk curiously. Sans had said that they wanted to meet Frisk. What did that mean?

"Sans, how do these guys work? When we were here last time you talked with her, right?" You hadn't thought about it the last time, too caught up in the moment.

Sans doesn't say anything for a full minute. You watch Frisk shakily reach to pet the alpha before you look over at Sans. He's looking directly at you with an expression you've never seen on his face. It's so serious and yet... You get the distinct feeling that if he wasn't just bone, he'd be chewing on his lip.

"i'm connected with them because of gaster. we have a telepathic link. it's why i don't need to talk to them to get them to do something and it's how she told me that you'd sensed her before." His voice is closed off. Whatever Gaster had done to forge this connection was clearly not a conversation he wanted to have. So you nod your head and only ask if you can pet the others too.

" _Do they have names?_ " Of course that's what Frisk wants to know.

"yep, named them myself. the alpha here is medusa. that one," he points at a blaster. "is hydra. The others are orion, aquila, draco, pegasus, aries, and icarus."

"Constellations?" You guess and he nods. "Wait a minute, isn't Icarus just a myth? It doesn't have a constellation, does it?"

He laughs. "no, it doesn't. he just happens to be the one gaster had me train by myself. he had some, um, listening issues to say the least." The smallest Blaster, apparently Icarus, gives an indignant huff as he makes his way up to you. You grin and scratch under his chin.

 

* * *

 

Frisk is upset when Sans finally pulls the three of you from the void to say the least. " _Nooo! I want to stay there for longer. Plleassseee Sans?_ " It's all you can do not to laugh at the lost look on Sans' face. Frisk had, until this morning, kept their distance from him. Sans just doesn't seem like he can compensate for the sudden change in their demeanor. 

"not today kid. we've got to be careful since there's no way of knowing what happens to humans if they're exposed for too long at first." Frisk sticks their lower lip out.

"Chill Frisk. You wanted to see Alphys, remember?" Frisk nods, still slightly pouting. "Do you want us to meet you at the hotdog stand when we're done or just walk home?"

"up to you. i'm at the stand until around one."

"Meet you there then." You press a kiss to his cheekbone. "Come on kid, time to get some work done."

*******************

Sans doesn't go straight to work. Technically his hotdog job is a side gig after all, but you don't know that. He's not hiding it on purpose, but he doesn't want to correct you yet. When he vanishes into the void he blips to the Snowdin stop to wait for the Riverperson.

They remember too. It's strange. He's thought that he was alone in being forced to live timeline after timeline again since he first noticed the resets. Apparently not. Not only did the Riverperson know about the resets, but they also knew about Chara. How?

He sees their boat speed into view, Grillby as their passenger. As soon as they stop, Sans speaks.

" **y o u**." He's been lost and alone in this so long that he feels a sense of betrayal now.

" _Sans, are you serious?_ " Shit, Grillby thinks that he's mad at him.

"So ---- told you," the Riverperson sing-songs at him.

"why didn't you mention to someone about the resets?" Grillby falters, apparently realizing that this wasn't about him.

"My job is to merely observe, not to interfere." Their job? He questions them and they laugh. "Sans, we've known each other for so long. Longer than you've been 'you'. Do you really think I can say?"

Angry magic courses through his invisible veins, sparking in his bones. He snaps to attention, looking for – and finding- that little white upside down heart in their body. He focuses his special brand of magic on it, the kind that both he and Papyrus wield and – he's blocked. That's never happened before. Not by anyone but Gaster. 

"You don't need to resort to violence, Sans." They're mocking him. "All will be revealed in due time. For now, enjoy the lull in the storm." With that, they use their magic to propel their boat backwards, away from him.

They're gone.

" _What...? What did I miss?_ " Grillby crackles lowly. Oh, he probably is expecting him to freak out.

"i'm not mad at you about the connection thing, grillbz." Sans feels himself sigh. Even if he had been, it doesn't matter now. Even his mild jealousy and curiosity don't matter at this moment. "the riverperson has been able to remember things from the start. they knew about chara."

" _How... eerie. Well, they've always been strange._ "

"yeah, they have..."

Sans can't help but to think that this something more sinister than being strange. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summery: Reader dreams about Chara again. Chara is curious about how Reader came through her abuse in one piece. Chara also briefly talks about what led to their hatred of humanity - Before they fell, they were Charlotte. Charlotte, along with her family, was raped and tortured. She was the lone survivor when she ran - falling into the underground fifty years after it was sealed off, she cast away her identity and became Chara. Chara attempts to bond with Reader and convince her to join them, promising not to harm any monsters. Reader tells them to "go off themselves" and Chara says "see you later, friend." 
> 
> \------  
> So...uh...sorry about that warped Chara headcanon. **edit from comments:** I'm totally not implying that I believe that it HAS to be a traumatic event that makes someone to decide that they're gender binary/fluid/trans. It's just that for Chara, it happened to be the catalyst. Chara's the reason the monsters that know Frisk's human don't question them going by they/them. 
> 
> Shoutout to [onthewingsoficarus](http://archiveofourown.org/users/onthewingsoficarus/pseuds/onthewingsoficarus) for helping me name the Blasters! I couldn't get into the nebulas, but have some constellations! (Side note to the story: It wasn't just that Icarus didn't listen to Sans - Sans was also laaazzzyyy with training him).


	40. Lab Rat

Things are different this time for sure. You aren't shown Alphys' real lab today. In fact, she doesn't even hint at its existence. Undyne is there again today which may be why. So after "introducing" Frisk to them and explaining to them that you're also trying to keep them learning, you're surprised to find the four of you sitting on the floor upstairs, just talking about SOULs and science.

"...So that's why you're so interesting, ----! Your SOUL contains all of the traits that we know exist in varying amounts that seem to change based on what you're feeling." You nod, pretending that you hadn't just gone off into la-la land in the midst of Alphys' speech. Frisk at least is really enraptured.

"Do you think that my SOUL can help break the barrier?"

"It's t-too soon to tell, b-but with h-having six SOULs already, I'm h-hopeful. Although it w-would h-help if someone c-could talk to Asgore about seeing the other SOULs." Alphys fixes Undyne with a half-glare.

"Only if you want one dead human." Undyne says with no venom in her tone. You aren't used to her liking you. Or being kind at all. You're used to whiplash if anything. "Asgore doesn't care about science at this point. He's tired, Alphys. He just wants to break the barrier and be free. If you can do that, great. If he has to kill another human..." She sighs. "Well, it's one more to free us all."

Well, that's nice and depressing. "Um, do you have any ideas for tests?"

"W-well, with both of your permission, I'd l-like to observe you and F-Frisk's SOULs myself to start with. I w-want to see if it l-looks like Frisk's SOUL would change like yours over t-time."

" _You think my SOUL could be as pretty as ----'s one day_?" Frisk sounds so excited that and you feel your SOUL twist pleasantly. Frisk thinks you're pretty, even with the crack. It might be vain, but it does feel good.

"I d-don't know, but maybe ----'s SOUL is how a normal adults looks? We can't be s-sure."

" _Wait. Why don't you know?_ " Frisk's brow furrows. " _You guys were on the surface before. You've met other humans_."

"We didn't care about human SOULs back then. If it was recorded, it's been lost to us." Undyne chimes in. "Most monsters that were involved with humans are dead and the ones that were and are still alive won't talk about it."

"Really?" You think of Grillby. "Why?"

"Painful memories. When humans pushed us under this stupid mountain, all interspecies mates were forcefully separated. We don't want the ones that are still around to fall down because we have questions about their long dead bondmate."

Now you feel like an asshole. You really need to tell Grillby that he can tell you to fuck off if you get too personal with him.

"Plus, they're kind of pariahs in a way. Now that it's been so long they're just considered to be sort of strange, but when the barrier was first constructed... Asgore says it was rough for them at first." Undyne finishes finally.

Poor Grillby.

"So what do you punks say to getting started?"

 

* * *

 

You're sore and for once, you aren't alone in that. Frisk looks tired too. It's been a while since they've had their SOUL pulled out for such a long amount of time. The four of you had mostly talked, but Alphys had started to observe Frisk's SOUL as well. The color-changing experiment was going to be a longer term one.

The two of you are about to leave (you were right, Alphys asked you to come back at noon tomorrow) when Undyne stops you.

"Hey punk, you said you guys were training with Papyrus right?"

" _Yep! He's the best!_ " Undyne smiles at Frisk's sincerity.

"I bet he is! So what's your excuse?" She raises one eyebrow at you. "I taught Papyrus and if he's teaching you, how come you sucked so bad yesterday?"

"Oh, um, he only trains me physically. He won't touch my SOUL because of Sans." You're over being upset about it. If Papy saw your SOUL, he'd tell Sans about it and you aren't ready to explain that yet.

"Thought so. Since I've already seen your SOUL, how's about you training with me?" What? Who is this woman? This can't be the same Undyne. "I trust that you won't do anything stupid. You have a munchkin to keep in line after all."

" _Hey!"_

"I'd love to." You grin despite the feeling that you just made a deal with the devil.

"Cool! We'll start tomorrow. Come by my place around 10:30 and we can spar before I have to patrol."

* * *

 

It's a short walk to Sans' hotdog stand. As much as you love Snowdin –and had begun to consider it home- it feels fantastic to have a change of scenery. Even better with the fact that you're basically free to wander the underground safely. Frisk is skipping ahead, clearly excited to see Sans again.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that they plan on trying to sweet talk Sans into letting them see the Blasters again. When you walk up to him, you can tell that he's expecting it. He's known Frisk long enough to know the way they think (and the Chara thinks, but it's best not to dwell on that).

" _Sans! Can we stop and see the Blasters on the way home? Please?_ "

"kid, they aren't pets." He gets up and squats a bit to look them in the eye. "i don't mind taking you to see them, i just don't want you to forget that. they're dangerous."

" _I know that. Do you really think I can forget what they can do?_ " Sans and you both freeze. Frisk doesn't usually bring up Chara. " _I'm trying to not be afraid of you. Of them_." Well, this had taken a turn. You do feel bad (and based on the look on Sans' face, he does too) that you hadn't even thought about them wanting to see the Blasters again as a form of therapy in a sense.

"no i-. look, you don't need to be afraid of me frisk. I'm trying to keep you and ---- safe. we start with the void in small doses, gradually building up to more. it's what my dad did with me." He glances up at you as if looking for guidance. Ha, like you knew what you were doing either.

" _I know I don't need to be scared. It's just hard not to be sometimes._ "

"i know the feeling kid. how do you think i feel around you sometimes?" You can't see their face, but you can see Frisk stiffen.

" _I'm sorry._ "

"me too." Sans opens his arms up and Frisk stiffly leans into him. "friends?"

A giant sigh comes from them as Frisk relaxes and wraps their arms around him. " _Friends._ "

When Frisk releases him, you can see that something has finally shifted between the two of them. Between this morning and whatever you just saw, something fundamental has changed. Frisk seems more relaxed around Sans than you've ever seen them, not bothering to lean away from him or to seek someone else out right away. Sans seems like he's finally gotten whatever he wanted to say across.

"oh. it's not charged yet, but here ya go." He digs in those black holes he calls pockets and pulls out your phone. Holy shit. He fixed it!

"Oh man, this is fantastic! Thank you Sans! You’re the best!" There's so many stupid games and pictures on this thing that you really are thrilled. And you have a camera again! Yes!

"don't you mean i'm _sansational_?" Oh god. You stifle a laugh. That was horrible.

" _Moment ruined_." You can't help laughing at that combined with the look of pretend hurt on Sans' face.

"well, for that, no hotdogs on the house for you." You laugh harder at that. "you either."

* * *

 

That night at the Inn, after charging up your phone on a wireless charger at the brothers' house while you ate dinner with them ("it's lightning based magic – one of the only ways we can use it down here"), Frisk falls as soon as their head hits the pillow. You don't.

What are you doing? It's hit you out of nowhere. What are you going to do if your SOUL can't be used to break the barrier with you still alive? Are you just going to let Undyne kill you? You shudder. You don't want to die. It's taken you a long time to heal and get through everything, but you weren't ready to lay down and die anymore. There's still so much to do.

 **Knock Knock**.

You jump, startled out of your thoughts by the light taps. Quietly, you tip toe out of bed and open the door. It's Sans.

"Hey, what's up?" You keep your voice down.

"you forgot something earlier." Your phone is in his hand.

"Shit. Thanks. Sorry, Frisk is asleep." You close the door behind you and step out onto the landing.

"i bet. SOUL shit's hard work." He's examining you, pinpricks darting all over you, probably scanning for injuries. "hey, um, can i pop in for a few later? i just need..."

He's flustered, nervous sounding, as he rocks back onto his heels. You know what he's implying. After everything, he needs you. He needs to know that you're fine, that you're safe. You need the same.

"I'd love that." You press a kiss to his teeth –he hadn't been prepared for you. "See you in a bit?"

"yeah. i'll just, uh, go read paps his chapter and come over then?" His nervousness is endearing. You give him a gently push, whispering that you'll see him soon.

* * *

 

It doesn't take him long. You feel the shift in the air as you're fiddling with your still turned off phone and you don't even look up. You just pat the empty space on the bed next to you. He slides in next to you, pulling you into his side. You both sigh contently at the same time.

"talked to the riverperson," he mumbles out. "they've always been a pain. i used to have to use them to run errands for gaster. they seem harmless, but..."

"No answers?"

"none, just raised more questions."

"I didn't think they would say anything." Frisk tosses in their sleep next to you and you wait until their breathing slows again. "More questions?"

"they implied some things and managed to block my blue magic. no one's ever been able to do that besides gaster." He leans into you a little more. "why do ya keep twirling it like that?" He gestures to your nervous fidgeting with the arm not around your shoulders.

"Nervous. I'm afraid to turn it on. To see if anyone missed me or noticed that I was gone besides work."

"you don't need to be. i doubt it will connect to anything besides the undernet down here."

You feel dumb, again. Of course it won't connect to human networks, you're in a goddamn mountain. Without another second of hesitation, you hold down the power button. Watching it power on, you get an idea.

"You said you wanted to know me right?"

"mm-hmm."

"Well I never deleted a single picture off of this phone and it's a few years old." You stop there to see if he catches on. He doesn't. "After everything was said and done, I wanted to be able to flick back and remind myself where I came from, you know? Maybe a bit like those journals of yours in a way."

Your phone boots and you grin at the lock screen. It's from New Years Eve, the group of you all drunkenly covered in confetti after the ball dropped. You grin and unlock it, heading to your photo album. Sans hasn't said anything, but you can feel the curiosity coming off of him in waves. You pause right before you click into it. "Do you want to see -?"

"yes." You look up at him and even in the dark you can tell he's blushing. "whatever you want to share."

So together, you flip through all the pictures on this old thing. It's hard at first. Having to put a face to the person that hurt you in so many different ways to Sans was difficult for you and having to see the documentation of your physical injuries the day you finally left was hard for him. From there, it got better. It was neat in a way, flipping through it now. You were able to watch and see how you were growing despite the pain.

You wonder what the pictures you'll take now will show.

"That's the ocean," you explain at one picture. "I'd just gotten my first real paycheck from the bar and for the first time I had some money to blow. So I watched the sunset at the beach."

"i know what the ocean is. i've even seen it. never went though. we only had a week so i never had the time to..." His grip on you tightens slightly. "if we break the barrier, go with me?"

"Of course. We'll have a bonfire," you feel some excitement building. "We'll go in the afternoon, watch the sun go down and the stars come out, roast some marshmellows..." You want it. You want to show Sans, Papyrus, and - hell everyone, want to show them what the world's like. How it's changed.

"don't do something stupid like get yourself killed for us though. i'd rather never see it and have you down here with me than see it without you." Your heart rate speeds up at that and you mumble out reassurances that you won't. You hope it's not a lie.

* * *

 

Your phones down and the two of you are now just laying next to each other. He's been saying that he should go for a while now, but doesn't. You don't want him to go. You're about to fall asleep – right on the edge of sleep- when Frisk screams and you snap awake.

"Frisk?"

" _\----? Sans? It was so bad. So so bad._ " Frisk is shaking as they hug onto you for a second and you feel a wetness on your sleeve. Tears.

"It's okay Frisk. You're awake now." You rub their back in what you hope is a reassuring way. Sans is still beside you, not moving. He's never seen their nightmares before. To your surprise, Frisk pulls away quickly and crawls over you and wraps themselves around Sans.

"kid, do you want me to go?"

" _No! Stay. Please._ " They roll a bit so that they are between you and Sans, still clinging to him. You wrap around them, your hand on the side of Sans' ribs. " _Keep me safe from them. Keep everyone safe._ "

You feel Sans nod as you feel him re-adjust a bit and throw the covers over all of you. Once Frisk is asleep again, Sans mumbles that he can leave if you want.

"Don't you dare, boneboy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Family time! Writing Frisk and Sans even starting on working things out has been the sappiest feel-fest for me. Actually this chapter in general gave me the feels.


	41. Girl Time

For the first time in recent memory, you've slept through the night. Somehow you know without opening your eyes that it's morning in the underground. You didn't dream either. Thank god for small miracles.

Why was that?

Opening your eyes, the reason hits you head on. Sans is still here, asleep, Frisk separating the two of you. You can't stop the smile that crosses your face at the sight. You and Sans were both turned toward Frisk, who was sprawled out on their back with their hands grabbing on to both you and Sans. You imagine that a bird's-eye view of the three of you would be cute right now.

Sans stirs as if he senses your staring. He opens one socket slowly and mirrors your gentle smile when he takes in the sight.

"guess me and the kid really are cool now, huh?"

"Guess so."

He yawns. "i'd kiss ya good morning, but," he looks down at Frisk fondly. "i'd hate to get _frisky_ in front of them."

"Oh my god. Leave. Get out." You stick your tongue out at him and he gives a low chuckle. You turn and eye the clock – nine in the morning. You'd even slept in a bit.

"i need to go soon. any ideas on how to move the kid without waking them up?"

" _I'm awake._ " The voice in your head is groggy-sounding.

"Barely." Frisk doesn't even open their eyes.

" _Don't go. Comfy_."

"gotta. someone's got to keep paps in line and make sure that we don't all end up eating spaghetti for the rest of our days."

 

* * *

 

Frisk comes with you to Undyne's that morning since both Papyrus and Sans had to actually work that morning in Snowdin. You were running too far behind to walk, but the Riverperson just sang this morning.  Undyne is positively thrilled to see you. The sight of an Undyne that is happy to see you strikes terror into your heart. Err, SOUL.

"You came! I was betting that you'd make an excuse not to come!"

"Nope. I'm a girl of my word." Frisk agrees, nodding along as they read through the first Lord of the Rings book (they'd wanted to read it for themselves after getting into the story at the brothers' house and you weren't going to discourage that).

"Good! The last human I met wasn't so honorable. So I'm going to go easy on you today, punk. If you've never done this before it can take a lot out of you." She's grinning manically across her yard at you. "Just so we're clear, if you turn out to be a psychopath and try to actually hurt me, I'll kill you where you stand, got it?"

"Wouldn't expect any less of you." This version of Undyne is friendly enough that you don't feel afraid for your life when you respond. A second later, you feel the gentle tugging on your SOUL that's followed immediately by the feeling of emptiness throughout you.

"Lots of orange and red in there right now." She's eyeing your SOUL with approval. "SO, ANYWAY. Your body may be physically strong, but that means jack shit if your SOUL is weak. That fuc-"

"Seriously Undyne? Language. Frisk is like, ten at the most." Frisk refused to share their real age with anyone for whatever reason. Frisk shoots you a glare and you hear their voice in your head, the small echo letting you know that this was just for you.

" _I've been coming down here for three years, resetting time, and you're worried about bad words?_ " You ignore them.

"Uh. Right. My bad. That moronic wanna-be famous calculator proved that yesterday, right? So we're going to start with teaching you to dodge movements with your SOUL first and then your SOUL and body."

Oh boy.

 

* * *

 

A grinning Undyne is bad for your health. Dodging does NOT come naturally to you. You'd taken more than a few spears to the SOUL, but Undyne was surprisingly kind and –relatively- gentle with you. She'd brought out some Sea Tea (dear god, you would never complain about the bitter tea that Tori gave you after this) and after you'd take a few hits, she'd make you drink some.

Watching your SOUL get hit was terrifying at first. You just knew that it was going to break in half, that the crack in the middle would finally splinter, that you'd die here – but you didn't. When you'd started to get tired and wanted to give up, but refused; you got to watch the purple portions of your SOUL get larger before your eyes.

Once you had finally gotten the hang of dodging with your SOUL alone, she started having you dodge physically as well.

"Enough! Good job today, ----." You're sweating and panting. She must have let go of your SOUL at some point, since you feel whole again. Wholey beat. You collapse on you butt next to the dummy and start taking large, deep breaths. "Next time you come by, I think we'll see how you do with green magic."

Frisk gives you a thumbs up from where they're sitting before going back to their book.

"Can I ask you something Undyne?" It takes you a few minutes to regain your breath. You'd, with the exception of fighting her last timeline, never done so much work with your SOUL before. You didn't expect to feel physically drained from it like you did.

"Sure thing." Undyne looks slightly awkward now that your training is done. She crosses her arms and it's like she doesn't know what to with herself or you now that she's not tossing spears at you.

"Why are you training me at all?"

"Watching you with Mettaton was fucking pathetic, that's why." Her one yellow eye is surveying you. "Plus I... I wanted to make sure you weren't acting yesterday. You really are harmless, aren't you?"

"I don't think I want to answer that either way."

Undyne laughs out what sounds like a genuine laugh. You're thrown for a loop again. "I might just actually like you human. Come back the day after tomorrow – rest is important for what we're doing. Now get out of here, I've got to get ready for work."

You clamber to your feet and call for Frisk. To Alphys' you go.

 

* * *

 

On your way there, it dawns on you that Undyne is trusting you with Alphys alone this time already. There'd been very few times the last timeline that she'd allowed that to happen. Undyne would schedule her entire day around you then. You don't get it.

Why is this time so different? Is it because of Frisk? Because you have someone that you don't want to get hurt?

" _Sis? What's wrong_?"

"Nothing really." Frisk gives you a look and you know that they know that you're lying. "I'm just worried. Why is everything so different this time?"

" _I dunno. It's not bad different though, right?_ " You shake your head. It's not. " _Then be happy. It could be worse, trust me._ "

Frisk is right. Either way, once you're in the lab you see why Undyne wasn't worried. Mettaton.

 

Can you go back to having an Undyne that hates you? Please?

 

"Hey -----, F-Frisk. Mettaton has s-something he wa-wants to s-say." The yellow monster gives Mettaton a look that you never thought that she was capable of giving someone.

He sighs. "I'm sorry, my darlings. I got a bit out of hand yesterday. I just got so caught up in the roll!"

"Please," you can't help yourself as you roll your eyes. "That wasn't acting. That was you."

"It **was** acting! I would never ever insult a SOUL, let alone one as gorgeous as yours, for real. Alphys just doesn't have the skill to pull off being mean." He actually sounds sincere. This may very well be the best performance of his that you've seen. "Frisk darling, it is an absolute pleasure to meet you."

" _Uhh. Nice to meet you?_ "

"So I h-have something I w-want to show you today. We won't be able to w-work upstairs since all my eq-equipment is downstairs."

"There's a downstairs?"

"Oh darlings, you're in for a surprise!"

 

* * *

 

Frisk is a pretty good at acting. It makes sense – it's how they survived down here. If they were to even let on to what they knew once... Well, it'd be the end of that timeline. You hope you've managed to be half as convincing as Frisk.

You think you have – the true laboratory is still creepy. It's even creepier now actually. You can feel the despair in the air from the amalgamates (or at least you hope it's from the amalgamates). You feel smothered. Two places on this tour stood out to you – the DT extractor and the flowers.

When Alphys shows you the extractor, you feel a flash of fear. How had you gotten the nerve to stand under that thing? It looks like a Blaster in a way, but twisted. Luckily, Alphys and Mettaton both assume that you're only intimidated by it.

Yet again in the room with the flowers, you look for Flowey. Alphys seems to be rushing you this time in here. That's strange.

_"She made him, you know_." There's that echo. " _I don't remember much about this place, but I do remember that. She made Flowey on accident_."

You try to keep your surprise and interest off your face. Alphys had made Flowey? Was she trying to repeat that experiment here or were these all proto-Floweys? When Mettaton and Alphys lead you back out towards the main area of this lab, you raise an eyebrow at Frisk.

" _It was a determination experiment and Flowey was the first flower that grew like that in the underground, but I don't remember anything else. It's all fuzzy._ " Frisk looks apologetically towards you. It doesn't matter. It's probably for the best that the can't remember everything. Frustrating since neither of you (or Sans, for that matter) knew HOW they'd freed everyone before without killing anyone or dying themselves.

You were so busy thinking about Flowey that you didn't notice that you were heading towards the generator room until you were almost there. Oh god. Chara's SOUL. You glance over at Frisk and they look apprehensive to say the least. What would it look like?

The answer, you see once you enter the room, was a dull pinkish-red. Just like Sans said. Frisk shivers.

"Th-this is the generator room. It powers this lab and a fr-fraction of the CORE," Alphys is beginning to explain and you just nod dumbly.

" _That's Chara's SOUL?_ " Frisk grabs your hand. " _It looks so...normal. Harmless._ " You can't say anything so you just squeeze their hand reassuringly. This was the source of the being that possessed Frisk for so long. It must be so... Underwhelming? Overwhelming? You weren't sure what they're feeling right now.

"Enough of the tour Alphys. Show them the potential results of your experimentation." Alphys blanches at Mettaton's tone. "I'm what happens when things go right. These guys are well... what happens when things go **strange**."

You're about to call him out for being an asshole when he, seeing the look on Alphys face, groans and makes the sound of a high-pitched whistle. There's a second when nothing happens before the amalgamates appear. Five of them anyway. Indogeny, just like in the last run, is the first to approach. Since you aren't threatening Alphys this time it (He? She? They?) approaches you and Frisk curiously.

Neither your or Frisk scream, although you do feel yourself tense. You really didn't want to get covered in dead dog slime. You pretend to hesisate before you hold out your hand.

"A dog?"

"Dogs." Mettaton corrects.

"Th-thanks M-Mettaton, I h-have it from here." Your jaw drops – not because of the hybrid monsters, but at the fact that Mettaton was here as moral support for Alphys. Weird. "The-these are the amalgamates."

 

* * *

 

 

You're far too worn out to walk back to Snowdin and stupidly, you didn't get Sans' phone number from him. Another ride with the Riverperson it is. 

"Tra-la-la," they sing out when they see you approach. "Hello my friends. How was your training?" Neither of you had said anything besides "good morning" and "thank you". 

" _How'd you know about that?_ " Frisk asks, sounding protective of you. Apparently they'd decided to not trust the strange being.

"My job is to observe, like I told your friends. So I observe," they say in a way that someone would mention the weather outside. Like it's that obvious, that clear. "Do not worry. I will not harm you or any of your friends. I give you my word."

"Can you take us home?" You just want to go curl up in bed and not move for a week. You feel almost as bad as you did when the world reset. Your body and SOUL positively ache right now. 

"If your home is Snowdin, than yes. I love riding and giving everyone rides in my boat." Frisk looks deep in thought as you board the small boat. The being behind you sings as you move through the underground and you feel like you know the song despite the fact that you've never heard it before.

" _Where are you from?_ " You're almost to the banks of Snowdin when Frisk breaks the silence.

"One day, I will tell you. That day is not today."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...It is all I can do to not just chapter dump everything today since I'm so excited about the upcoming chapters. But I've got to make sure they flow properly. Tomorrow's chapter is the third version of it, for example.
> 
> Sigh. 
> 
> BUT I WANT TO SO BADLY.


	42. Procrastination

You and Frisk meet Sans at Grillby's that night after you took a well earned nap at the Inn. Frisk goes to play poker after trying (and failing) to get some gold off you to actually gamble.

When you tell Sans about the Riverperson (after pointing out that neither of you had thought to get the other's phone number which thoroughly embarrassed him), the white lights in his sockets roll. "cryptic motherfucker" is all he had to say on it. He warned you to stay on your guard, but generally agrees that the Riverperson is harmless.

When you tell him about Mettaton being present with Alphys, he's a lot less calm. At least this Mettaton seems to grasp without asking that you don't want to be his 'human consultant'. Sans makes you promise to be safe and to never let yourself be alone with the robot. After what happened the last time you were alone with him, you promise quickly.

You have zero intentions of breaking that promise.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, you hear a sound you haven't heard in months. The chime of a text message.

**Sans: u up**

**Sans: got a surprise 4 u and kiddo**

**You: We're up.**

**Sans: meet me @ my post in snowdin say hi to paps 1st tho**

Why does it not surprise you that Sans is a lazy texter? You shake your head at his texts and nudge Frisk. "Come on kiddo. Sans wants to show us something." Frisk jumps up.

"I'm ready!"

 

* * *

 

The two of you make your way through the forest, stopping when you see Papyrus bent over his station, working on something.

"AH! HUMANS! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED THIS MORNING!"

"What's up Pap?"

"GUESS!"

" _Uhh... you pranked Doggo again?_ "

"NO, BUT THAT DOES SOUND LIKE FUN. GUESS AGAIN!"

"You caught Sans sleeping on duty?"

"UGH, YOU KNOW I DID. THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT." The tall skeleton beams at the two of you. "UNDYNE MENTIONED THAT YOU TALKED TO HER, ----. SHE SAYS THAT SHE DOESN'T HAVE ROOM ON THE ACTUAL GUARD, BUT THAT SHE WOULD LIKE MY HELP WITH TRAINING AND STRATEGIES!"

"Oh my god Papyrus, that's great! Congratulations!"

" _Yay! Coach Papyrus for real! Do we still get to train with you?_ "

"OF COURSE! I OWE YOU BOTH SO MUCH FOR STICKING UP FOR ME!"

"Nah, Paps, you did it yourself." You lean over his cardboard station to hug him. "You'll be an official guardsman soon. Once she sees you in action, she'll find room for you."

" _Yeah!_ " Frisk has gone around and jumped up to hug him too. " _You're the best Papyrus!_ " Papyrus flushes orange.

"Guys, please," he says bashfully. "AH-HEM. SANS IS WAITING FOR YOU BOTH. GO! I HAVE IMPORTANT TRAINING ROUTINES TO WRITE DOWN. SEE YOU BOTH TONIGHT!"

You wave bye as you continue forward to Sans. You're so happy that Undyne listened to you. You're thrilled that Papyrus is so thrilled. You keep moving, stopping when you see Sans snoozing at his station.

" _Don't scare him._ " Frisk sounds nervous and is eyeing him warily. " _I don't think he'd like it._ " No, he probably wouldn't. It was tempting to scare him awake like Undyne did, but not in Snowdin. Not with Frisk.

So instead you sneak up behind him and wrap your arms around him. "Wake up lazybones!" Frisk glares at you as Sans tenses up in your arms, but immediately relaxes.

"lazybones? i'm not a lazybones, well right now anyway. i'm multitasking right now. sleeping and working all at once."

" _Lazy._ "

"No kidding." Sans sticks his tongue out at the both of you.

"i had a pleasant surprise for you both, but now you've _goat_ too far."

Frisk snaps to attention. " _Mom?_ " Sans sockets soften, his teasing stopping.

"yeah, she came by a few days ago to let me know that the heat had cooled on her finally. that i could bring you two by today." It had taken that long for the guard to lose interest? Why? Undyne had said that she'd chalked you guys up as rumor. Odd.

Frisk is trembling in excitement. " _Sans? Can we? Please?_ " Poor kid. This is by far the longest they've ever gone without seeing Tori. They really had grown to consider Tori to be their mom. Like you have room to judge them on that. You're in love with a ketchup eating skeleton – there is zero room for you to talk about odd connections.

"c'mon, let's go."

Frisk doesn't listen. They're bounding through the snow ahead of you, straight to the Ruins door. Sans shakes his skull, a tender look on his face. His hand finds yours as you follow behind Frisk.

 

* * *

 

Tori is thrilled to hear from you both. Unlike last time, Sans stays for a bit while the two of you catch up with the former Queen. Frisk is beside themselves. They keep having to stop talking, their crying affecting their ability to 'talk'. Poor Sans ends up sitting in the snow, an upset Frisk curled up in his lap.

"So I asked you both here for a reason. I wanted to ask you both if you want to come back home. The Guard has lost interest in this place finally." Your breath catches and you think you feel that crack in your SOUL splinter a little more. "So would you like to come back here?"

"T... Would we be able to come and go?"

"No, it would not be safe I'm afraid."

You sigh. "I can't. I'm working with the Royal Scientist and Undyne on a way to break the barrier with my SOUL. Frisk?"

Frisk peers up at you, big brown eyes glossy from crying. " _\----?_ "

"It's up to you. I love having you around, but it's your life. This is your choice. I'll still love you if you decide you want to stay with T." Frisk looks shocked. You do love them. In the past few weeks, they'd become family to you. Not 'like family', but family. You wanted what was best for them, but they had to decide what that was.

" _I...Can I think about it?_ "

"Of course my child! Take your time," Tori's voice is muffled, but still soothing.

_"Can you take me back to the Inn?"_ Frisk looks up at Sans. _"I don't feel so good."_ Sans agrees and says that he'll be back in a few minutes. Tori says goodbye to Frisk and they're gone.

"So how are things going, my dear?"

"Not bad. Great actually," you say and lick your lips. "I've met someone out here, actually."

"Oh? How do you think that'll work when they discover that you're human?" Tori is just concerned, you know it, but it still rubs you the wrong way.

"He knows. It's, uh, it's your friend actually." There's a strange sound from the other side of the door. "Tori?"

"I need to go for the day. I'll send word with my friend about when we can speak again."

"Oh, okay." What had just happened? "See ya, Tori!"

But she's already gone.

 

* * *

 

It's ten minutes later when Sans finds you at his sentry station, sitting on counter top. What the hell had happened back there? You didn’t get it. Tori was always reluctant to leave last timeline.

"babe? what happened?"

"I told her about us and she just left." Wait a minute. Wording it like that... "Oh man, I'm such an idiot."

"what? no, you're not."

"She likes you Sans and I just totally threw it in her face. Oh I'm such an ass."

"oh jeeze. i've got some explaining to do to her in a few days." 

"Shit, did you want me to keep this private?" You could kick yourself. It couldn't be well known that he was involved with you just in case it came out that you were a human. Fuck.

"no. sweetheart, stop. i thought you'd want to keep this quiet." You stare at Sans as he nervously kicks at the snow.

"I've never been happier and you think I'd want to keep this quiet? Man, we should stop talking. We're both being stupid." This is ridiculous. 

He relaxes in front of you. "no kidding."

Did he just...? "Did you just make a fucking pun right now?" Confusion is written all over his face and then -

"oh my god. unintentional punning. that's new. ---- , i think you complete me." You both dissolve into giggles, Sans pulling you off his station and to him, throwing an arm around your shoulder. "she'll come around. If she doesn't, it's her _baa-d_."

"Sans," you bite your lip, fighting off laughter.

"what's the matter? did i get your _goat_?" You snort, dissolving into giggles in your skeletons arms. "you know, i think that's my favorite sound now."

"Hush, you. Now verta-babe I need to go check on Frisk." You pinch his neck bones playfully and he kisses you as he pulls you into the void.

 

* * *

 

Frisk is under the covers, when you and Sans walk into the room. They're just a lump in the middle of the bed, under the blankets, hiding from the world.

"i'm gonna go back to work," Sans whispers in your ear. "let me know if you need anything." You squeeze his hand, mumbling out a thank you, before you let go and crawl over to the lump.

"Frisk?" There's a grunt of recognition under the blankets. "Do you want to talk or do you want some space?" They lump jerks slightly. "You know all I can see is a weird-shaped ball, right? I have no idea what that jiggle meant."

" _I don't know what I want,_ " their small voice whispers. 

"That's fine. You've got time." You stretch out on the bed, giving Frisk space while also getting comfortable. "I'm right here. Let me know if you want me to go for a bit." You close your eyes and try to process what happened earlier. Tori had a thing for Sans. He'd mentioned that he'd once had a crush on her too, but that the timeline stopping and starting had left it so that he just couldn't keep doing it anymore.

Poor Tori. If they'd been flirting before the resets started and, for her, suddenly he's not just not interested in her, but interested in a human that she'd welcomed into her life. Ouch. That must sting.

" _\----? Why are you letting me choose?"_

"Because it's your choice. I like having you around, but you think will make you happy. " Frisk apparently unfurls, since the next thing you know a head pops out from under the covers. "Chara's gone Frisk. It's a whole new world for you. You can have your mom without having to worry about breaking the barrier."

Frisk lets out a strangled noise that sounds like a cross between exasperation and resignation. "Look," you say, "for the past three years or so, your life hasn't been yours exactly. You've earned the right to have a say in your future."

" _If you picked for me, what would you do?_ "

"Moot point, Frisk."

" _What?_ "

"It doesn't matter since it's not my choice."

" _Please? I'm just curious."_

You sigh. "I'd keep you with me, at least for a while longer. I like having you around for sure. But I'd wait until the three months are up just in case..."

Frisk eyes you thoughtfully at that. They aren't dumb by a longshot, but they are still a kid. Thinking about the long-term consequences to every action was a bit more than you'd expect them to do.

" _You're right. I'll pick after we've been here three months. Just in case._ " Frisk's face relaxes once they decide to procrastinate (because that's exactly what they're doing) and they snuggle up with you under your arm.

"Well, that leaves you with two months kiddo."

" _I know._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got an extra chapter in during an extra-long nap, so have a second chapter today! That way in the morning, something starts to hit the fan. 
> 
> I feel like I need to add that I do actually like Tori's character. I really like Tori. I just really want a Tori that isn't the Patron Saint of All Monsters that can do basically no wrong. So have a jealous Tori.


	43. I Want To Know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I am NOT a patient woman, there were two chapters uploaded yesterday! The second one was uploaded early afternoon and is important to this chapter if you missed it :)

A month later and Frisk is still bidding their time. When asked about, they avoid the question entirely. It's almost masterful how they deflect and distract you – sometimes, you don't even notice until they're sound asleep.

It's impressive and you tell Tori that. It had taken a week after your unintentional bragging for Tori to ask for you. Sans had brought you to the door, shrugged, and vanished right away. Ass. As soon as you'd mentioned that he was gone, Tori had unleashed a torrent of apologies for acting like a "dumb teenager". It was still awkward at first, but the last time you had seen her (well, talked to her) after talking to Frisk, Sans, and you together she'd finally said that she was truly happy for you. She'd even almost managed to sound like she meant it.

"I hate to think that we're pressuring Frisk, ----." Tori herself had given you a time today, so you'd left Frisk in the Inn that morning reading. You'd told them they were more than welcome to join you in a few minutes.

"Me too, Tori. I just told them that it's their choice and I'm not going to force them to hurry up."

"I agree and I'd love to be able to tell you both that you'd be free to come and go as you please, but it wouldn't be safe for any of us," Tori says through the door, regret in her voice. "I know that Asgore occasionally sends someone to look in on me and I don't know if they're a member of the Guard or not..."

"I get it Tori. Opening and closing this place would draw attention to you. I still think you should send a message to Asgore that says 'fuck off' by moving out here, but I get it." You hear Tori's bell-like laugh through the door at the same time you feel the air shift – Sans and Frisk are here. "Well, well, well we have two stragglers here at last."

" _I'm sorry! I wanted to finish my chapter!_ " Frisk had moved on to the second book now. Their dedication to such a wordy fantasy epic before they had even hit double digits (presumably) was impressive.

"I've checked out the first one from the library in New Home. It's really good so far!" Tori continues to talk to Frisk. 

"hey, ----, you ready?" Sans is eyeing you nervously. It had taken him longer than he thought it would to come up with experiments for the charm around your neck. Well, so he says. You're pretty sure he just had to work up the nerve to perform them.

"Yup! Alright Frisk, be good and don't spoil the story! Here's my phone," you toss Frisk your phone. "Call Sans if you need me, okay?"

" _Ok! Be careful!_ " Frisk shoots Sans a look and you know that Frisk is sending him a private message. When Sans nods, your theory is confirmed. You can science too.

Sans grabs your waist and pulls you into the void after your goodbyes. You blink and you're in his basement workshop. "So straight to business, huh?" You try to be conversational, you know that the guy before you is a ball of nerves right now. He doesn't want to poke at this, but he feels that he needs to and you agree.

He'd confessed to you that he was terrified of hurting you when you'd -gently- asked what was taking so long.

"yeah, papyrus is still home for another hour or so. after he leaves though – i have plans for you," he sing-songs out the last bit and you grin. It has been about two weeks since you've been able to get your hands on your boyfriend. Getting time alone together was a challenge. Between how busy you were with your secret Undyne training, Papyrus training, and being a test subject it was damn near impossible to get Sans alone. The two of you had never had an, er, 'encounter' that wasn't at risk for being walked in on by Papyrus or Frisk.

"I like the sound of that."

"heh, got to get there first. i have a few ideas i want to test out. to start with, medusa mentioned that you sense her the first time we met." You sensed the question in there.

"Yeah, I could. I couldn't see her completely, but I could see something big and camouflaged floating beside you. I felt-"

"i know what you felt," Sans sounds incredibly guilty. "that was my blue magic – gravity magic. i was pressing down on you."

In the past month, Undyne had mentioned how formidable she thought Papyrus' blue magic could be if he wanted it to be. To know what it felt like when wielded by Sans... Now that you knew what it was, you got it.

"That's a pretty cool ability." Sans looks at you like you're insane, which isn't anything new. "What? It's kind of funny to look back on now."

"'kind of funny'? seriously?"

"Sans, it's been almost six months since we met the first time and, technically speaking, literally a different life. So yes, it's funny now."

"you're insane, you know that? out of your fucking mind?" Sans words may be mean, but his tone, smile, and posture betray both his relief and teasing. "anyway, testing. i'm going to pull medusa out twice. once with you wearing the necklace and once without. depending on that, we'll try it again with another blaster." You grin in excitement. This was going to be interactive! This was already more fun than Alphys' experiments.

Sans grins back, asking if you're ready, before his sockets go dark. Does he know that him doing that doesn't scare you in the least anymore? It might look creepy, but it no longer sends shivers down your spine. After a few seconds you see the shimmery form.

"I see her – behind your left shoulder. Should we go outside for this? This room's kinda small for them Sans."

She's there for another second before she vanishes. "nah, they're fine. it's not like i'm gonna let them all out to wreak havoc in here. ok, take the necklace off now."

You take it off and throw it on to the counter. Or, well, you try to. Sans' blue magic catches it mid toss, slowing it down and placing it gingerly onto the counter. "Are you serious? Now you're just showing off."

He just shrugs, sockets still dark, and you watch. Nothing. "If she's there I can't see her." You focus and you feel the same feeling that you do when Sans teleports, except it's consistent. "I think I feel her though."

"feel her?" The feeling fades and his pupil return. "whaddya mean?"

"It's the same thing I feel when you take a shortcut."

"close your eyes. i want you to try and pinpoint where i am when i shortcut or at least describe what you feel."

You comply and concentrate. You don't feel him leave, but you can feel when he reappears. Focus ----!

"I don't know where you are, but when you do it I feel it in my spine? It's hard to describe. It's like a pins and needles feeling, the hairs on my neck stand on end, and," you pause, struggling. "it's like i feel what i think static would feel like?"

He doesn't say anything for a few minutes, but you feel him reappear in the room a few more times. After a few times, you jump when you feel something hit your chest. The charm – Sans is putting the necklace back on for you. He presses a bony kiss to your cheek.

"ok, good. again."

 

* * *

 

Even with the necklace on, you can't sense him disappear or where he is. When he repeats the first test with Icarus, you recognize the blaster by his shape.

"cool. we're done for the day." He's jotting the results down in a new composition book quickly.

"Did we learn anything?" Why did you ask? He's just going to give you the same look that Alphys does and a 'it's too soon to tell', just like she does.

"yep." Or not. "you're sensitive to void magic. we don't have any way of knowing if it's natural or if you just learned to sense it with the necklace's help, but that feeling? that's the feeling of spacetime being disturbed when the void opens. it's probably why you're so at ease in the void. how are you feeling?"

"Fine." He raises a brow bone. "I feel normal Sans. I'm not tired, sore, or whatever."

"good."

You think about it for a second before what you know is a wicked smile hits your face. "But I want to be."

"huh? what do you mean you want to - oh." When he catches your drift, you see desire creep on to his face. "oh. that can be arranged. " You laugh as Sans essentially tackles you through the void, into his room, and onto his bed. The phone in his pocket chimes.

"oh for fuck's sake," Sans nearly growls as he reads the screen, still wrapped around you. "they'll be back in a few minutes."

You let out a frustrated groan.

"s'ok. we can still have a good time."

 

* * *

 

The two of you are tangled together, enjoying the afterglow, when you hear Papyrus barge into the house with Frisk. Sans lets out a small huff of annoyance.

"one of these days we'll actually be able to take our time and enjoy each other, right?" You giggle at his tone – Sans' feathers were ruffled.

"You saying you didn't enjoy that?"

"i said no such thing." He pulls you closer somehow.

You close your eyes and enjoy the closeness to Sans. Pokey bones and all (oh god, you'll never say that out loud to him. Ever.) since he didn't have his weird magical invisible torso summoned. Sans isn't relaxing though. He's fidgeting.

"What's wrong Sans?"

"nothing." He keeps fidgeting and doesn't elaborate.

"Should we pretend to just be coming in from the lab?"

"probably."

You make a quiet sound of annoyance and roll out of bed. Or you would have if Sans arm doesn't hold you tighter. "Sans?"

"i want to share SOULs." You freeze. Are you even breathing? "not right this second obviously, but the next time we're alone. please, i-i want to know." You don't say anything, but take a deep breath. You want to say yes. You want to say yes so bad.

Something in you is screaming at you not to and you feel a tightening in your SOUL. Don't let him get that close. That he could destroy you. That he'll leave the second he sees it. 

"I'm not ready yet Sans." You let the voice win. Disgust with yourself prickles at your consciousness.

"oh. ok." When you roll away this time, he doesn't stop you. When you look at his face, you can see the hurt that he's trying to hide from you. He's being so patient with you and you can't even give him this.

"I'm sorry Sans. As soon as I'm ready, you'll be the first to know."

"ok." He smiles up at you and you can see the lie in it.

You're pretty sure you feel your SOUL break a little more.


	44. I'm Sorry

After that day, it's like the next month flies by in a blur. Depending on the day you're either: training your SOUL with Undyne, training your body with Papyrus, letting Alphys and Mettaton run tests and/or experiments on you, testing and/or theorizing what the Delta Rune around your neck actually is with Sans, or some obscenely tiring mixture of any of the four. By night, you're with the brothers and/or Grillby. You've never been busier or happier.

Frisk still doesn't talk about what they're leaning towards doing with you. You tell them that you're here if they want to talk, but you don't press anymore. They're flourishing in the underground though – between you all Frisk is happy, healthy, learning, and growing. Things with Tori are pretty good, but you're not as close as you were in the last timeline. You don't know if that's because of Sans or Frisk though.

Things with Alphys weren't looking so good, but at least she kept coming up with new ideas. She, once she figured out your deal with Undyne, refused to not come up with new experiments or theories. She'd opened up about her crush on Undyne with you and even had recently asked for your advice on what to do. "Go for it" you'd practically screamed at her, but she hadn't yet.

Undyne was a mystery still. A friendlier mystery this time around at least. She held you an arm's length away (figuratively at least - during your secret training sessions she'd happily whoop your ass across a room), but you've begun to consider her a real friend now. Papyrus and you were now as close as you and Grillby, minus the SOUL bond...thing.

As for Sans... Things were mostly good. Mostly fantastic actually, except for that SOUL thing. You dodged his questions like Frisk dodged yours about what they were planning on doing. He acted like he was fine with it, but you could see the sadness in him when he thought you weren't looking. You wanted to give him what he wanted, you did. Something just stopped you every time.

 

* * *

 

" _\----! ----! Sis! Wake up, you're gonna be late!_ " Frisk's voice was loud.

"Too early to be that loud kid." You groan.

" _Undyne's gonna be mad if you're late again._ " You feel a small foot press into your ribs.

"Ugh, fine. I'm up."

You sit up, yawn, and wipe the sleep from your eyes. Another night of dreamless sleep. It's better than the nightmares at least. You had been worried about the dreaming situation until you started to actually think about it. You'd died. You probably had some sort of weird PTSD-thing going on.

"What time is it?"

" _Six-thirty._ "

"Why did I agree to this?"

" _Because Undyne wants to train with you before she takes Paps to Asgore. She says she won't abandon her 'responsibility to you' even though she'll be busy all of today."_  Frisk is way too amused right now. " _Or at least that's what you told me to tell you last night_."

"You don't need to sound so smug." Frisk gives you a wicked smile (one that is clearly them and not Chara) before they pounce. Short fingers skim and twitched on your sides- what a brat!

"Frisk! Alright, I'm up!" You're giggling, trying to roll away. They don't stop their assault on your sides. "Frisk, stop. I'll pee on you, I swear."

" _No you won't!_ " They freeze in place though.

"I'd rather not, but I just woke up. Do you really wanna risk it?"

" _No._ "

They practically fly off you, just in case apparently, and you let yourself literally roll out of bed. You bitch to yourself under your breath. After a month of great training exercises and apparently some really good strategy meetings, Undyne had decide to try and get Asgore to stretch the Royal Guard's budget to include an extra member by setting up a meeting between the three of them that morning.

And because it's fucking Undyne, she wanted to not only make sure that Papyrus was presentable and keep him calm, she wanted to make sure you didn't miss a day. So to the small random cave within a cave to train in private with Undyne at seven in the morning for a few hours. You'd tried to convince her that training in Snowdin was a bad idea, but nooo.

Fuck your life.

"Alright Frisk, I'll be back in a bit."

" _I'm going back to sleep._ "

"Whoop-de-do, good for you." Frisk giggles at your 'enthusiasm'.

 

* * *

 

"Look at you, on time even bright and early!"

"How are you so cheerful?" Undyne looks as happy as you've seen her. She's dressed nice which at least means that, even if practice goes long today, at least it doesn’t look like it'll be grueling. She can't get gross before she goes to the King. Right?

"I get to kick your ass bright and early! What's not to be cheerful about?" You groan at her enthusiasm.

"Do you think Asgore's going to go for it?" Papyrus had been a bundle of nerves for the three days since Undyne had announced their meeting. You'd never seen the normally confident skeleton so unsure and on edge.

"I hope so. I'm going to do everything I can to convince him at least. We could use a guy like him." She stops to smile, sharp teeth even appearing friendly, before she does a double take. "Stop trying to distract me! You're not getting out of this!"

 

* * *

 

You're doing well. Since you've started to train with Undyne, your body and SOUL have gotten faster and you're more confident with your ability to keep yourself and Frisk safe down here if push ever came to shove. Your back is to the entrance to the small cavern and Undyne is in front of you, right before the other door with the Delta Rune on it.

She's forgotten about her meeting with Asgore apparently. The two of you are sparring openly, body to body, her magic to your SOUL. She's grinning like a madwoman and so are you. You're having _fun_. Fun sparring with the captain of the Royal Guard. Who'd have thunk it?

Then suddenly, Undyne's yellow eye goes wide and she drops you SOUL.

"Ugh, what happened?" You shiver as your SOUL falls into your body. "That felt weird."

She doesn't answer, just gulps while looking at a spot behind you. What could have her looking like – Oh, fuck. Sans is there, Frisk beside him. Frisk looks confused, eyes going from Sans to the two of you and back to Sans. Sans' sockets are dark and his face is stuck in that stupid mask.

Shit, shit, shit.

He doesn't say anything, he just turns on his heel and walks away.

Fuck.

"Sans, wait!" You don't even look back at Undyne as you rush past Frisk with a quick "stay with Undyne" after him. He doesn't stop, but he doesn't just shortcut away either. That's good, right?

You catch up with him outside of the smaller cave. "Sans I-"

He whips around, anger, hurt, and betrayal written all over him, grin gone.

"you what? you're sorry?" You don't say anything, just bite your lip. His anger... you're on edge now. The pinpricks of his eyes run over you and despite everything, he gets it. Gets you. He lets his angry posture drop and shoves his hands in his pockets.

"i don't get it. you don't trust me with your SOUL, but you'll trust undyne with it? the captain of the royal guard? the woman that would be hailed a hero to almost everyone if she took your SOUL to asgore? the woman that tried to kill you last timeline? and you trust her with it and not me?"

"Sans-"

"look, if you changed your mind about me, that's fine. well, no it's not, but i get it. we're two different species for fucks sake. but why not tell me?" God, you feel like garbage. You take a step forward and reach out to touch him, but he takes another step back. Ouch.

You know you deserve it.

"I haven't changed my mind about you or us, Sans."

"then why not tell me about this?"

"I didn't want you to worry." 

"then why won't you show me?" 

There's no easy answer for that. You try to figure out how to explain the tightening in your chest, the malaise and dread that fill you when you think about it -

"so you don't trust me."

"Sans it's not that! I do!  I-I'm sorry. I screwed up."

He takes a few more steps back, heartbreak clear on his face. "look, i can't do this right now." Oh god. You feel you heart break (or SOUL finish breaking?) which must translate on your face. "shit. not like that ----. i'm really pissed off and upset and i- i don't want to take it out on you, ok? i'll call you when I'm ready to talk." He takes a shaky breath in. You might have preferred his anger over knowing that you've hurt him this badly. 

You nod. "That's fair." Your voice breaks a bit. What had you thought was going to happen when he found out about this? "Before you go – I am sorry. I should have told you."

"yeah, you should have." Then he's gone.

FUCK. You grab a fistful of snow and chuck it off the cliff. "FUCK!"

"Hey ----." You spin to see an uncomfortable looking Undyne and a worried Frisk. "I'm sorry – I shouldn't have insisted on today. Training here was a bad call when you're trying to keep it on the down low." You feel the shock hit your face over the grief. "What? I can admit when I'm wrong, punk. I never meant for him to find out like this."

"Me neither."

" _Find out what? Why was it a secret?"_  Frisk sounds confused and Undyne blushes.

"Err, well," she starts.

"I'll explain it as best I can, Undyne. It's not your fault at all. I shouldn't have hid it from him." You sigh.

"I'll chime in if I you get something wrong or struggle."

" _Explain what? Guys?_ " As much as you want to go sleep, cry, and shut down... You can't. Frisk needs you. Or that's what you tell yourself. Pull yourself together, not in front of the kid. 

"Well," you groan. It looks like you aren't getting around the sex talk. Fuck. Double fuck. Today isn’t your day. "For adults, SOULs are a little different than for kids. Their, uh, private. Between two people in a relationship, it can be a, um, big deal."

Undyne snickers. "You're being as clear as mud. Look, as a kid you're still learning about your SOUL and how to use it right? You're still learning who you are. Your SOUL is still the culmination of all you are, so once you're older it becomes more private. For you guys, since you're human, you apparently don't understand how much your SOUL can show. Since you're trying to break the barrier without dying and with training, you've both seen your SOULs way more and shown your SOULS to more people than a normal monster would."

You think that her explanation is just as clear as yours was.

Frisk has a blank look on their face as you all start walking back towards town. " _I don't get it._ "

"For us, our SOUL is more in tune with our bodies. If you hit our body, you hit our magic, which goes directly to our SOUL, right? We only show our actual SOULs to people we really trust and even then, not always."

" _We trust you though_."

"You're right, we do trust them. On the surface, you trust the police officers, right?" You jump back in and Frisk nods. "Would you let any police officer read your journal if you had one?"

" _NO!_ "

You smile at their vehemence. You knew they'd get it – Frisk is a pretty private person, just like you. "Exactly. So pretend all of our friends down here are police officers, except that I'm also your neighbor that helped raise you or something. Would you let me read a page or two?"

" _Maybe._ " They sound reluctant.

"You'd be more likely to let me read it though, right? So your SOUL is like your journal in a way. Private, but you can share it. Once you're in a relationship like Sans and I are, you can chose to share your SOUL with each other."

"Your SOULs don't show that much unless you're trying to share it though," Undyne adds at the look on Frisk's face. "We know you're determined and that ---- is, well, ----. We don't know what the hell is up with her SOUL. But all the details that make you 'you' are still private. Alphys is looking for science-based mumbo-jumbo, not to psychoanalyze you."

You watch understanding dawn on Frisk as you walk. They really are a bright kid. " _So you didn't show Sans your –ohhhhh. Is it because of the crack?_ "

"Yeah," you admit to Frisk. Undyne makes a strangled noise. "Oh, hush you. You can judge me when you share your feelings with Alphys."

"You – what? How?" She's flustered and despite everything, it's hilarious. 

"It's written all over your face when you're near her Undyne." You'd been trying to approach this tactfully. So much for that.

"NO IT'S NOT."

" _You thought you were hiding it?_ "

"OH GOD. NO." She takes a deep breath. "You both know?"

"Yep."

" _Pretty sure the only person that doesn't know is Alphys._ " You're glad the kid said it and not you.

She lets out a strangled garbled sound as you finally hit town. Papyrus is waiting by the Christmas tree, pacing.

"UNDYNE! THIS IS A BAD IDEA! I SHOULD -"

"Shut the fuck up and march. We're walking to the capital so that you can get yourself together." Frisk's eyebrows practically go up to their hairline as their mouth forms an 'O'. You'd struck a nerve with Undyne and she was acting out now.

"Paps, you'll do fine." You smile at him. "You'll do better than fine, you'll do great!"

"-----?" Grillby approaches out of nowhere. Where had he come from? Why is he up so early? It can't be after nine yet. "Ah, today is the day, isn't it? Good luck Papyrus!"

"THANK YOU GRILLBY!"

"----, may I borrow you for the morning? I could use an extra pair of hands." Grillby is giving you a look that says, quite clearly, 'say yes and don't argue with me'.

"I have to head to Alphys' in a little while."

"It won't take long," he says. " _Come on. I felt your hurt a few minutes ago. You need someone to talk to._ " The second part is a whispered crackle as he comes up beside you and grabs your shoulder. 

" _I'll go with Undyne and Papyrus to Alphys' lab and wait for you there! That is, if that's ok with you both?_ " Frisk seems to get that Grillby wants to talk to you. 

"I'D LOVE TO HAVE YOUR COMPANY TO HOTLAND."

You wave them off with Grillby beside you.

" _Go take a shower and change. I'll meet you by the Riverperson in twenty minutes._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 


	45. Memory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has to do with music! If you can, catch up by listening to it [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sab3Mi62HHE).  
> If you can't listen, well, it will be made clear.
> 
> Fixed the update date 'cause I'm a doof.

Fuck. The desire to crawl into bed and not move hits you hard when you enter your room, but no. Meeting Grillby and working with Alphys. You have plans, things to do. You glance at the time as you make sure that Frisk didn't kill your battery (not that you could do anything about that with Sans wanting space) when you put your phone on the nightstand. Nine fifteen in the morning and shit's already hit the fan. You shower and dress in a hurry, rushing out the door.

Grillby's waiting for you and you can't help the barked laugh that comes out of you at his appearance. He's wearing more casual clothes (a flannel and jeans? Seriously?) and rain boots, with an umbrella in hand that he's currently leaning on.

" _What?_ "

"Nothing, nothing." Grillby's a fucking hipster. He glares at you, before grabbing you and gently shoving you into the boat.

"Tra la la, good morning." Ugh, please don't say anything cryptic and weird today. With Sans upset with you (why do you keep thinking about that look he gave you? Cause you're a glutton for punishment, duh), you don't need to add another layer of shit onto the already spectacularly shit-tastic day. You touch your pockets just in case – Nope, you forgot your phone on the nightstand.

Good job, you.

"'Morning." It can't hurt to still be nice to everyone else though.

" _Waterfall if you please, River._ " Grillby, in a rare show of affection, places a hand on your back. You try to smile at him, but you can't.

"Looks like we're doing this again." The boat is moving quickly, yet smoothly for Grillby's sake.

" _Doing what?_ "

"The whole comforting and crying thing."

Grillby just shakes his head at you.

 

* * *

 

"So why the umbrella?"

" _I'm made of fire. We're in a place called Waterfall."_  The 'duh' was obvious from his tone. When the two of you touched down in Waterfall and got out of the boat, he'd locked his elbow with yours, leading the way to... wherever.

"Where are we going actually?"

" _I want to show you something._ " Grillby gently pulls you along and you huff a bit before holding on to his arm. He's so solid feeling for something with no bones – ugh, WHY are you doing this to yourself. " _So what happened that upset you so much that I could feel you broadcast it while I drank my morning tea?_ " You open your mouth to answer - " _Don't you dare apologize for it either. It was big if I felt it as much as I did_."

"I've been training my SOUL with Undyne. It wasn't exactly a secret, but I also didn't volunteer the information."

" _Lying by omission is still a lie, ----._ " Grillby can't quite keep the smugness out of his voice, but he was clearly trying to.

"I know."

" _I don't see the big deal yet though_."

"Sans has been asking about sharing SOULs for about a month."

" _So wh-? Oh. And you won't show him yours, but you'll train it with Undyne._ "

"Pretty much. He didn't take it well."

" _I imagine not. You know, if you'd just tell him about why you're so nervous about it, this probably wouldn't have happened._ " You sigh when you suddenly hear voices that you know approaching quickly. Grillby quickly pulls you into a side room – this is where the Nice Cream guy had moved to, you realize. He wasn't here yet - apparently he couldn't figure out about Snowdin being too cold on his own, but he could figure out that before ten was too early.

Neither of you speak as your three friends pass by. "I just don't know what to say about it. How do you bring that up?"

" _'Hey Sans, I know you want to see my SOUL – you should know that it's had a crack in it for the past three months that wasn't there before'_." 

"That was a horrible impression of me, Grillbz."

" _Should I add in the hiccups and the slur you get after a few drinks?_ "

"Grillby, shut the fuck up." You barely get it out before you're laughing. It wasn't even that funny, but you needed that. "Am I really that bad?"

" _No,_ " he says as he pulls you out of the room and you two continue on your way. " _Laughter helps._ "

You continue without talking until you and Grillby have to make a jump down. You vaguely remember this from your walk with Undyne last time- holy shit.

"Is that...?" Your jaw drops.

" _That's New Home._ "

"Whoa. How did I miss that?"

How did you miss that even with the death march Undyne had you on? In the distance is what looks like a castle, surrounded by a city. It's grey, huge, impressive, and the gemstones shine all around it. Right here, with the sound of water falling echoing like rain in the distance, you forget you're underground. For a second, you're looking at a foreign city at night.

" _It's almost like being above again, isn't it?_ " He's opened his umbrella now and it makes him look incredibly dignified as he turns his head to look at you.

"Yeah. It's so big and open."

" _The underground is a big place in some ways. Tiny in others. Come on, we're almost there._ "

This time he grabs your hand, much like Sans or Frisk would, and leads you. His hands are warm, but there's a warmth from within that you feel too. It makes no sense.

"You feel...double warm." He laughs as you walk.

" _My SOUL. We're close and I'm trying to calm you down. It's kind of neat that you can sense me too though. I didn't think you'd notice._ "

"Thanks."

" _Don't thank me yet. Grab an extra umbrella when we get to them, okay?_ "

"'Kay." It's barely five minutes later after walking under waterfalls and through puddles (which you had apologized to laughing at Grillbz's attire as soon as you saw this place) when you grab it. In the next room, he stops.

There's a statue in front of you. It looks so sad, sitting crisscross and hunched into itself. It clearly was a powerful or important monster if the two large horns are anything to go by. There's a lone yellow flower planted beside it’s base. You turn to look at Grillby, who's watching you.

"What?"

" _This is it._ "

You look back at the large statue and examine it. It's face – it looks like it's crying. There's water streaking down its face. Silent tears. Oh, it's not crying. You glance up. It looks like it's raining on it. You stare at it for a second more and remember the umbrella in your hand.

You step closer and- without even thinking about how dumb this must look- open up the umbrella in your hand and place it in the crook of it's elbow. You step back, the tears on its face stopping, and the patter of the water droplets hit the umbrella echoing now. Why had Grillby brought you -

A tune begins to play. You don't say anything, you just listen.

"It's so sad," you whisper. The song feels heavy, despite the light sound of it, like you shouldn't speak over it. Like it means something. "What is this place?"

" _A shame. This was in a much more respectable place until Mettaton... Anyway. This is a memorial._ " You glace behind you to see that your friends' flames are dull, muted. " _This is the memorial for Asriel Dreemur._ "

Asriel Dreemur? You look back at the statue – why do you know that name? The memory strikes you like lightning – Asriel was the prince that died. Chara's sibling. Asgore and Tori's biological child that was killed by humans.

"Why did you bring me here?"

 _"Listen to the tune. What do you hear?_ "

"A dirge." The melody was despair in musical form. You can almost feel the pain radiating throughout you.

" _It's a monster song of mourning, so you aren't exactly wrong._ " His flames are still dull, but he manages to give you a smile. " _You asked me about Joan two months ago and I've been putting off answering you. I'm sorry for that. I won't go into everything now, but I will tell you about her soon_."

" _She was eighteen years old when I saw her for the first time. I didn't think much of her since monster and human relations were starting to sour, but a week later she came up to me. I was in a hurry and you know what she says to me? 'Hey, slow down! Where's the fire?'_ " He grins at the memory. " _She was something else._ "

" _We kept our relationship a secret for over six months. I never spent time with her openly in the daylight until we were married and even then, we were careful._ " He sighs. " _Sorry, I'm getting carried away._ " You shake your head. He's not. You could listen to him talk about her for hours - you want to know the woman that your friend loved so much - as much as you can anyway. 

" _Navigating the beginnings of our relationship was difficult – we're two entirely different cultures as you've learned with Sans. I knew within a month that I wanted to see her SOUL, that she was the one I wanted to be my bondmate. She didn't._ " He shoots you a rueful grin.

"She was like me, wasn't she?"

" _I some ways, yes. The same fire, so to speak. Definitely the same stubbornness. She cared for me deeply, but she was_ _nervous as well. I found out later that she didn't want me to suffer if the rest of the world found out about us. Things weren't bad yet, but there were rumors of monsters disappearing and she didn't want to take that chance. She told me I was going too fast. That we needed to take our time with this because we had to be sure._ "

" _I left her after six months of nothing._ " Grillby had left her? Holy shit. They clearly worked things out, but still. With the way he talks about her, she was perfect.

" _She found me three days later. She hadn't eaten, hadn't slept, hadn't stopped crying. I wasn't much better, but I wasn't that bad. Right then and there she agreed to show me her SOUL. Wouldn't you know it, she was it. Our SOULs... I won't spoil it for you. It's magical, it really is. We ran off and married that next week._ "

"Grillby, I don't need a sex talk." No, you and Sans have that part down. Had?

" _That's not what this is. Relationships are give and take. You shouldn't have to lose the person you care for it to all make sense. My only regret, and hers too, was that we'd wasted five months or so avoiding the issue of our SOULs. She died regretting it._ "

"She shared that with you, didn't she?"

" _Yes. I wanted her with me, but she knew it was her time to go._ " Grillby makes his way over to your side and grabs your hand. He's crying, the lava-like tears falling down his face. You squeeze his hand. " _She was wise like that. I played this song nonstop on my piano after she died. I still do sometimes. It took me forever to hear it, but I want you to really listen to this song._ "

You close your eyes and let everything besides Grillby fade away. He's the only thing anchoring you to the present for a few minutes. You listen to the tune.

"It's so sad."

" _Is it really?_ " He finally talks after another minute. You listen harder and then you hear it.

"No. It's sad, but... hopeful." You open your eyes and look at Grillby. His flames burst back to normal which hurts your eyes for a second.

" _Exactly. I knew you'd get it. Even through the darkest of times, there is hope. So what are you going to do?_ "

"When he's ready, talk to him. Tell him why I haven't..." The feeling inside of you starts to twist in your very SOUL, but you ignore it. No. 

Grillby pulls you into a hug.

" _Exactly._ "

The two of you stay like that for a minute. Talking about Joan had clearly upset him.

"You didn't have to bring me here if you didn't want to, you know."

 _"I wanted to. You're the only person that actually listens when I talk about her. I've mourned her for so long alone that having someone to talk about her with is nice. Strange, but nice._ "

The two of you separate, but you grab his hand again before he can pull completely away. You need his comfort and you think that he just might need yours too.

"What's it like to love someone that much?"

He doesn't answer as he gently tugs you away from this private moment in time, back to the 'real world'. The tune fades to background noise and is lost completely to the sound of water.

" _Life changing. I may have only had her for a few years, but those few years are both enough and no where near enough in my memory. She told me to move on one day when her SOUL was with mine and I both want to honor her wish and yet never see myself loving someone the way I loved her. There's never a day that I don't think of her._ "

" _C'mon. Lets get you to Alphys'_." His hand slowly reaches for your cheek and wipes a stray tear away. You jump and both laugh at the sizzling sound that comes from his finger. Everything is going to be just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I plan on writing a short piece about Grillbz and Joan sometime. With how much I've made Grillby love this woman, I want to give her a voice dammit.


	46. Bar-Tinder I Really Did It This Time

Grillby waves as you walk into the lab. You'd both pulled yourselves back together for the walk over here rather well. You still looked slightly upset, but you were still living the pain. Grillby had lived with the pain for centuries now. He's pretty good at shrugging it off. 

When he closes his eyes sometimes, he can still see Joan like she looked the day before she was taken from him. Joan's face was like yours (and so was her spirit), but he can see the differences in his mind. He sees her brown hair, long and slightly unkempt due to morning sickness, dancing in a breeze. Her hazel eyes see straight through his flames into his SOUL. The barely there but still slightly visible (not that he would EVER mention it to her) baby bump beneath her navel.

Loving a memory was hard.

Grillby crackles out a groan as he approaches the Riverperson. He can't live in the past. It's probably best that he talks about it with you, shares it, but thinking of her in such detail had to be bad for him. Bond or no bond, it isn't normal to remember a loved one's scent after five centuries, is it?

"Tra la la, la la. Oh? How'd it go?"

_"Not bad. She got it."_

"It's a shame about the prince's memorial."

" _It is_." He doesn't feel like talking really. It's not that the Riverperson weirds him out with their knowledge (although the things that they were aware of were sometimes concerning), he just... He needs a minute. Five hundred years of mourning and that melody still sends him into a fit of melancholy.

He halfway hopes you and Sans talk things out tonight instead of coming to his bar. He doesn't want to really be forced to watch the two of you be lovey-dovey or awkward and tense around each other after his time with you today. Especially with Frisk. He knows that none of you realize exactly how much you look like a family to him. A monster, a human, and a human child as a family – no, Grillby, stop right there.

A night off. That's what he needs. A night off and a stiff drink.

He'll schedule a night off next month when he gets back. Fuck it, two nights. Close the bar. Maybe go to a bar in New Home for a change. Technically he hasn't REALLY had a night off in three years. That sounds good.

"Thank you again for the smooth ride, River."

"No problem, my friend. Stay safe today – you'll need to help him keep his cool. Tra la la."

What did that mean? He knows better than to ask, so he just nods (what do you SAY to weird shit like that? He's known them for centuries and he doesn't have a fucking clue) and waves. Oh Snowdin. Home. Peace. Quiet. He'd stayed here when the other monsters had spread out – he was tired of being a freak, of being a pariah because of Joan, Aedus, and whoever that little SOUL she'd been carrying would have been.

So he'd stayed and as time passed, so did the assumptions about him. By now, almost everyone was too young to remember his human wife and hybrid children and the monsters that did remember, like Gerson, wouldn't mention it. They were all trapped under here, why cause a domestic dispute over memories?

He sighs and glances at his phone outside of his bar. It's noon. Four hours and he did most of the prep work for today last night... He has time for a nap. He'd lied to you – the sudden sharp pain in his SOUL from yours had woken him up. The raw pain had been striking – he hadn't felt anything like that since Joan and Aedus had died. So he'd gone to you, took one look at you, and instinctually knew what you needed.

The strange bond yet non-bond between you was unique, powerful, and (as much as he hates to admit it) comforting. The best of friends, SOULs attached by some thread of determination. A new kind of bond in it's own way. So, understandably, he's a bit miffed at Sans' dramatics too. He's had experience with this before, he reminds himself, he has the gift of hindsight. Sans and you do not. 

Between that and his interrupted sleep that he's looking forward to fixing, well, suffice to say he's a little pissed when he opens his bar to see Sans sitting on his bar, drinking.

_"For fuck's sake. Sans."_

"'sup grillby?" Sans sounds like he's been here for a while. He's drunk. "you won't believe the morning i've had." He's less than impressed with Sans' chosen coping mechanism as he watches the skeleton down the rest of his glass.

" _I think I will. I've got to say, this is the dumbest idea you've had in a while._ "

"probably, but science says that alcohol is a solution so i'm running with it."

Grillby feels his eyes roll. Dramatic, like his father in a way. He'd never say that to Sans, but Gaster had a flair for the dramatic. When something went wrong, the world was ending. Thus the whole 'jumping into the abyss' thing.

"you're almost never up this early. wha' gives?"

" _I was giving sage-like advice to ----._ " Sans' face darkens.

"she came to you? Seriously?"

Grillby can feel the complaining that's about to come out, so he stops it. He won't listen to derogatory remarks about you that have no foundation – he knows that Sans can be nasty when enraged. " _I went to her._ " The rage instantly deflates. Ah. Sans is looking for an outlet.

"what?" Grillby can't help the amusement that's coursing through him at Sans. He's using that blue magic of his in the most useful way – making drinks.

" _You sure you don't want to just pull a few shifts to pay off that tab?_ " Sans' sockets narrow. " _Fine, fine. I felt her pain when you two fought. That's a rather annoying side-effect to tell you the truth – it woke me up. It was like my SOUL was being stabbed, asshole_."

Sans at least looks a little guilty at that. " _So I talked to her. Took her to Asriel's memorial and talked to her._ "

******************

Sans chugs the rest of his drink. He feels numb right now. He'd been angry when he thought about her going to Grillby since he was his friend first dammit – but at the mention of pain in her SOUL, he deflated instantly. Numb again.

" _For fuck's sake._ " Grillby repeats his earlier words as his flames glow brighter and his bottles are incased with fire.

"oi!" Without even looking up at Grillby pours some water in a cup, places a tea bag in it, and heats it with his fire magic.

" _Drink this._ "

"ugh, why?"

" _I'm not talking to you like this. Drink this and sober up._ " He doesn't want to be sober. He wants to just hurt for a few minutes. Wants to feel something. Anything. Well, anything but the hurt.

Weeks. He's openly been wanting to see your SOUL for weeks and you would just dodge the fucking question. Every time. He could respect that you weren't ready – he tried so hard not to pressure you. He just wants to know that you really want him.

You said you trusted him. Not with your SOUL apparently. But you'd trust Undyne with it. The woman who tried to fucking kill you, that would be a -

" _Sans. Drink this. Now._ "

"fine." He grabs the small container and downs it. Yuck, that damn golden flower tea. It only takes a minute to work before his senses return to normal and the numbness fades away to welcome a dull ache in his SOUL. "'kay, i'm sober. now what?"

" _I need to start charging to advice, that's what._ "

"i don't want it." He knows he's being an ass again, but he doesn't care.

" _Therein lies the problem._ " He feels his friend looking through him. " _Who else do you know who's been involved with a human? Who else knows what it's like that you know?_ "

" _I'll give you a hint - me."_

Sans groans, burying his skull in his arms on the bar. Grillby was right. Again. He keeps his head there for a few minutes. Of course. He could mope for forever. God knows he has the experience with that. He could shut down for days, weeks, months. Or he could face this and work this out. With that in mind, he peeks up at Grillby.

Grillby is leaning on the bar, head resting in his hand, and is just watching him with amusement on his face.

"what? do I have something on my face?"

" _You're reminding me of myself, that's all. I've already told my story to ---- today and I don't feel like repeating myself._ "

Sans peels his skull out of his arms and off the bar top. He's never going to hear the end of this. Grillby is never going to let him live today down.

"'m sorry, grillbz. you're right. always right, actually."

The fire elemental grins smugly, flames dancing in a show of self-satisfaction. " _Flattery will get you nowhere._ " The skeleton sighs. " _It doesn't hurt though._ "

"what should i do? grillby, this hurts. "

" _I know it does. Intimately actually. I can't tell you what to do on this one, Sans. Matters of the SOUL are between the two of you_." He knows they are. With the smugness, he thought Grillby could give him something.

" _I know what's stopping her Sans and I can tell you that it's not that she doesn't care._ "

"she... she told you?"

" _Blurted it to me the night she helped me close. It looked painful for her to admit._ "

Great. Does everyone know but him?

" _I know it's been years for you, but do you remember the first time you closed this place down with me?_ "

How could he forget? It'd been right after he'd pulled Papyrus to this place with him. What did that have to do with anything? Sans just mumbles a 'yes'.

" _It's a weird spot to know you both so well and as a friend to both of you, I can't betray the trust that either of you has placed in me._ " Grillby runs a hand through the flames on his head, thinking. " _Do you remember what you told me that night?_ "

"no. i was drunk. really fucking drunk."

It had been nine days after Gaster's death, three years ago for him. He'd just finished unpacking the few belongings of his and all of Papyrus' stuff earlier that day when he'd went to Grillby's to give Paps some space. To drink away the pain that he'd been running from for... Well, longer than Gaster had been dead, that's for damn sure.

He doesn't remember what he told Grillby that night and he doesn't really want to know either. Of course, he's not that lucky.

" _You told me that -_ " in that next moment, Sans hears his biggest secret thrown out at him. How Gaster had ruined him.

"heh, you must have mixed some strong drinks that night grillbz." Play it off, Sans.

Grillby scoffs. " _You're so full of shit Sans. I know that you think you're broken and I know that that little detail is why you think you're broken._ "

Sans says nothing. What can he say? He won't call his friend a liar. He is broken.

" _So did you ever think that maybe ---- thinks that she's broken too?_ " His skull snaps to attention along with his mind. In that context, the dodging, the running, the fear. They all make sense. He's such an ass, he should have recognized that motions of someone with a secret they were ashamed of. He did the same thing. " _No, I won't tell you why. In case you think about asking."_

"i guess we should learn to talk to each other, huh?" You're ashamed of your SOUL for whatever reason. He knows the feeling, knows the signs, and he didn't notice. He feels like an idiot. He feels like a huge weight has been lifted off of him, too. Talking. He can do that. He should explain why SOUL sharing is such a big deal to him. He's never wanted to trust someone besides Papyrus (or apparently Grillby) the way he wants to trust you.

" _When you do, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. She's all yours already Sans, even if she doesn't know the extent of it yet._ "

"how do you know that? the bond thing tell you that?" He feels a bit better now. Enough to be curious about how that bond between you two actually works.

Grillby gives him a sly grin. " _Really want to know?_ " He nods. Of course he does. " _She doesn't know what it means, so I don't feel bad about this in the least. Her SOUL calls for yours, the same way Joan's called for mine._ "

Oh. That... That wasn't what he was expecting.

* * *

 

Sans is still processing Grillby's words a few minutes later. He's drinking ketchup, contemplating SOULs. Yours calls for his. Heh, it looked like Papyrus may have been right. You'd mentioned the feeling to Grillby, not knowing what it meant. Not knowing what a big deal that it was. So why couldn't he feel it?

He asks Grillby that question and the fire elemental shrugs. " _Maybe it's because she's human? I never thought about -_ "

Sans had been staring off in space, when he sees Grillby fall into the bar. Pain. He's in pain.

"grillby?"

Grillby is clutching at his chest, where his SOUL would be, flames going mad. What the fuck?

"grillby!"

Everything goes fuzzy for a minute and it's like the world stops spinning forward and goes backwards instead. He's dizzy, mind fuzzy, and suddenly, just as soon as it began, it was over. He's sitting on the bar stool again with Grillby standing in front of him like nothing happened.

" _Sans. What the,_ " Grillby rubs at his chest. " _What the fuck was that?_ "

Sans is frozen. He can't believe it. "that...that was a load." What had happened?

" _If I felt that much pain -_ "

You were in trouble.

Sans doesn't say a word, just shortcuts directly to Alphys' lab in the CORE. Alphys is sitting at the table, working on something when he materializes.

"alphys, where are ---- and frisk?" He can't keep the panic in.

"They w-went on an errand to M-Mettaton." Fuck! "S-Sans w-w-what's wrong?" He doesn't answer. There's no time. He just shortcuts into random spots throughout Hotland.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

He finds you on the third level, on that giant vent puzzle heading towards the resort. He's sees Frisk first, heading toward him without seeing him. He sees the back of your head. Frisk looks beat to hell already – he taps into their SOUL. They're hurt, badly hurt, and so are you. It feels like he's been watching forever, when it's only been about three seconds, when he sees why.

Mettaton had his newer body activated and he's chasing the both of you. He's quick, able to leap across the distances without the vents.

Frisk spots him first. "Sans!" You spin and lock eyes with him. Fear and apologies are in your eyes. He sees you say something to Frisk as you push them. You're almost to him – there's nothing he can do without harming the both of you until you're behind him. Teleporting would mean losing sight of all of you. He can't judge the distance from here and he can't predict Mettaton's movements.

"Aww, he's here to save you. It's a shame he's too late!" Mettaton laughs as he releases some bombs after Frisk. Shit – You throw Frisk over the final platform, at his feet, and you spin and take the blow.

He can't see it, but he hears it. A sound he knows from all his times fighting Chara. Your SOUL shattering.

 

 

No.

 

 

 

Frisk is crying as they look him in the eyes. There's something gleaming in them that he hasn't seen in a while. Pure determination. The same that would be in their eyes before they freed everyone.

 

 

 

 

The world spins backwards rapidly again and he's back at the bar at Grillby's, right where he was. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so proud of this chapter. I've been looking forward to posting this for DAYS.


	47. Metal Crusher

Walking into Alphys' lab, you try to let the events from earlier fade from your mind. There's an entire group of peoples' futures at stake – your love life problems came second to the whole underground. Oh, yeah, and your life. Living might be a tad bit more important than a fight with Sans.

That's what you told yourself as you try to clear your head.

"----! A-are you al-alright?" You glare at Frisk next to Alphys.

" _It wasn't me!_ "

"Undyne t-told me what happened." Oh god, did Papyrus know now? "S-She texted me about it."

Your face falls. "I'm fine." Too fast. "Or. Well. I'll be fine." Frisk comes up and wraps their arms around your middle.

" _I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I didn't know it was supposed to be a secret. When Sans came by and asked where you were, I told him._ " You hug them, patting their back as you fight back tears. This isn’t how this was supposed to go, dammit.

"It's not your fault Frisk. I wasn't going to ask you to hide things from anyone. It was going to come out sooner or later." Although you'd been hoping on later. Way later. Like 'we broke the barrier and everything turned out fine, see?' later.

"Are y-you up to d-doing this today?" Alphys places a taloned had on your shoulder. "I understand i-if you aren't."

You think about lying. You can suffer through this. You can be poked and prodded – it's basically your job down here. It's what's paying the bills now that the gold Tori had given you is gone. You're not with it today.

"Not really." You'd survived an abusive relationship without a break. You'd kept trucking on. Never stopping, never pausing, just running. Then again, you hadn't had a choice. So why take a day off? Here, you did have a choice.

Alphys smiles."H-hows about I j-just take a l-look at your SOUL and w-we w-watch s-s-some Mew Mew Kissy Cutie together? I know we've watched a few other things but I think the humor in it will make you feel much better! It's romantic but not overly so! It -"

"That sounds fantastic, Alph. Frisk, want to set it up while Alphys looks at my SOUL?"

"Sure thing!"

Once Frisk is distracted, Alphys blocks their view of you as she gently pulls at your SOUL. After months of practice, your SOUL comes with no resistance. Your SOUL is almost entirely purple today, the other colors speckled in it. It appears to be more muted than usual.

"Interesting," Alphys eyes sparkle with curiosity. "Your SOUL is so ex-expressive."

So it isn't your imagination. You are more muted than normal. "I-I'm s-sorry t-that was r-rude."

"No, it's fine. It is, isn't it?" Almost everyone you knew could see (or feel) everything about you, except for Sans. Ha, sans Sans. Alphys carefully lets go of your SOUL and you shiver when it re-enters you. Even if your SOUL comes easily for your friend, you still feel empty without it. "I think I like it better when I'm happy."

_"It's ready to go!"_

"I h-have p-pints of ice cream if you-"

"Oh fuck yes." Monsters and humans really aren't so different.

 

* * *

 

Five minutes later, Alphys phone rings. Based on her eye roll, it's Mettaton. Frisk pauses the show as she walks away, shooting you an apologetic glance as she answers.

"H-hello?"

You hear a robotic voice answer her and you can only imagine the tirade that he's going on. Can robots break nails? Did he run out of grapes?

"M-Mettaton I c-can't j-j-just drop everything because you n-need something from me! Th-that's not r-right!" The robotic voice gets louder and you glance at Frisk, who's tucking into their pint of ice cream. Hey - you're their sister, not their mother. You're also not a complete hypocrite.

"Wonder if someone stole his mirror?" You say, leaning close and whispering to Frisk.

" _Or turned his fountain off?_ " You giggle. You probably shouldn't encourage the snark, but eh.

"The underground should be so lucky," you say as Alphys groans into the receiver. "What does he want?"

She covers the end of her phone up. "He n-needs a new b-battery and some l-lubrication for his joints."

"I can take it," you whisper and at the odd look she gives you explain. "You're a busy woman, you can't just drop everything for him. Lucky for him, I'm here today."

"Are you s-sure? You said you n-needed -"

"Alphys, it'll take what? An hour at the absolute most?"

"Maybe a few m-minutes longer." Mettaton is yelling into the phone now.

" _I'll go too!_ "

"Yeah, we'll be back in no time flat."

Alphys gives you a genuine and thankful smile as she removes her hand to talk to Mettaton. It's a quick errand that will save Alphys a huge headache.

 

* * *

 

Once Alphys said that you and Frisk were coming with the parts, he had agreed to meet the two of you halfway at Alphys' insistence since Frisk wanted to see more of Hotland again. So to Hotland level two you go.

" _I forgot how fun this is!_ " Frisk is giggling in your head as a steam vent launches them up and over to another platform.

"Um, are you sure the steam is going to be able to carry me?"

 **Whoosh.** " _Yep! All the monsters use it too!_ " More giggling.

"Alright then." You tip toe up to the first vent –deep breath-and jump on it. You're weightless for a second and then gravity kicks in and you fall on to the first platform. For a second, you just plop down in the center of it.

" _\---- it's fun! Did you really think a monster puzzle would hurt you?_ "

"...Yes?"

Frisk giggles again, shaking their head from the other side. " _Want me to come back and get you?_ "

"Please. I really don't feel like figuring out a puzzle like this. I really might throw up." You aren't kidding.

" _Didn't you say you went to the resort last timeline?_ "Frisk rolls their eyes, but hops on the random moving walkway back towards you.

"I did, but I took the fu- freaking elevator." Frisk shakes their head, grinning.

**Whoosh**

They land beside you. " _Hold my hand, we'll go together. Mettaton's just on the other side._ "

 

* * *

 

You didn't throw up, which was an awesome plus. Once you're back on a real path, your legs stop shaking. Why was this a thing? Puzzles. Puzzles everywhere. Why? Was there something wrong with a bridge? Huh, you still haven't tried to make the bridges larger after you run in with Undyne last timeline.

"I need to get on that."

" _What?_ "

"Nothing. Just thinking out loud."

The two of you keep moving, you explaining your thing with bridges, when you round the corner to see Mettaton waiting. His screen lights up as an exclamation point.

"Ah, hell-o darlings!" His voice is different now. He's not as robotic sounding anymore, less computer-y and expressive. He's now able to purr. "I'm glad you two could make it! I wish you two would have come to my resort, I had something to show you both there. Could you maybe still come?"

"Not today Mettaton. I have business with Alphys." For the first time in three months, you feel that warmth on your chest, the warning that there's danger here. You hadn't considered that you'd potentially be walking you and Frisk into Mettaton's arms alone.

"Oh that can wait! It won't take long!" He wheels behind you and you tense as he throws an arm around your shoulder casually. The warmth becomes near burning.

 

**You.**

**Are.**

**In.**

**Danger.**

 

You need to get you and Frisk out of here. **Now.**

"We really shouldn't, Alphys is waiting for us."

 _"We can come by tomorrow though!"_ Yeah. With a small army...

"Well she can wait! It's a matter of life and death, my darlings!"

"So is breaking the barrier," you deadpan at him. You weren't in the mood for this crap even before the Delta Rune 'woke up' or whatever.

" _\----, we need to go. He's only this pushy when he wants to kill me._ " Their voice echoes in your head, signaling the privacy of their words.

"My darlings, I wouldn't dream of keeping you for long! It's just important. Please." He gives you a gently shove. Maybe if you went along with it for a few minutes you'd be able to split or distract him.

"Well..." You pretend to think.

" _I have an idea, but it only buys us a few seconds. When I give you the sign, we have to run._ " You almost giggle at hearing something so similar to own your words thrown back at you. Wait. You shoot Frisk a look, still pretending to mull over your options. What you wouldn't give to be telepathic.

A look of concentration crosses Frisk's face. They look far away - like they can see something that you can't, like they're someplace else for a few seconds, before they come back to the present. What was that? What did they just do?

Frisk steps forward, touches your back, stepping behind you. " _Sis, we should go with him._ " There's no echo anymore. " _NOW!_ "

You turn and bolt as the same second that Frisk did – well, did something – grabbing their hand as you run deeper into Hotland.

"Did you...Did you just flip my switch?" The voice is even less robotic sounding from behind you.

"You need to lead us, I don't know where to go!"

" _Just follow the path to the elevator._ " 

You're running, barely paying attention to your surroundings. Follow the path, keep Frisk safe. Survive.

"Do you two think you can really run away from legs like these?" He's right behind you and you feel that tugging on your SOUL.

"Run, Frisk! I'll be right behind you!" You turn and face – holy shit, was that Mettaton? That wasn't the square shaped robot that you've kind of gotten to know. He's humanoid now; black, pink, curves, edges, and gorgeous.

" _\----, I'll run ahead! Just – just keep him distracted for a minute!_ "

"What do you think of my body, darling? I think it's absolutely _killer_."

You snort, putting on a brave face. Distract him. You can do that. "It's pretty hot. Although I've got to say, aren't those boots a little much?" It works, Mettaton looks outraged. He purses his lips and openly scowls at you. "Aww, baby, don't be like that. You'll get frown lines."

"My legs are splendid. They must be shown off! Also, honey, still a robot. I don't get frown lines. You however," he says as he eyes you up, "should have been more careful. Let's see what you've learned from Undyne, hmm?"

"Rather not," you cross your arms. The only monster that has really attacked you, even with you refusing to fight, has been Flowey. You hope that Mettaton is better than that.

He shrugs. Or not. "Either way, that unique SOUL of yours is mine." Lightning bolts fly for your SOUL. Nope! You're quick thanks to Undyne, managing to dodge most of them. The few that hit do hurt, but you don't let it show.

"So you know how to dodge? Well then let's dance!" He's in your face now, body to yours throwing punches and kicks in your direction. It is kind of like a dance. A dance that you aren't as good at – you don't know his techniques like you do Undyne's, so he lands a few hits and a hard kick to your stomach.

_"----, the elevator is here! Hurry!"_

You yank your SOUL back into your body –which fucking hurts- and flee. You're running as fast as you can manage. Frisk is holding the elevator door, head poking out. How was this going to work? Now isn't the time to doubt, so you just hope that this works out for you.

Mettaton laughs behind you and you feel your SOUL get pulled out through your back. Son of a -!

"Not so fast darling." You hear what sound like hissing in the air.

" _\----!_ "

Something that you can't see tears through your SOUL and into your back. Everything goes black instantly.

 

* * *

 

There's the sound of rushing wind again. You are completely aware of yourself this time. Hopefully, that's a good thing.

"Hello again my dear." That voice. You can't place it, but you know that voice. The darkness chuckles at you. "I don't have the time to unlock your memories of the last time you died since your friend is trying to load right now. It's a while since they've needed to, so it's not coming easily. What was I – Ah, yes. You know me."

"What do you want?"

"Right now, just to check on you. Dying is rather traumatic, isn't it?"

There's nothing you can say to that and the darkness laughs again.

"This is the void, isn't it?"

"A portion of it, yes. My portion of it. I never imagined when I took that child's SOUL that they would be vindictive and determined enough to trap me here with them after death. "

You have so many questions to ask, but the darkness 'tsk's at you.

"We don't have the time. Don't you feel that?" Feel what? You concentrate a bit and – oh. There's a feeling of...of something in the air. "That's time shifting."

Oh. Frisk was loading for you? Is that what that was?

"Yes. Two things before you go my dear, if you don't mind. I'll make sure to have you remember this bit –do not let Sans or Papyrus anywhere **NEAR** that SOUL of yours. "

What? Why?

"And when you come to, be ready to run."

Then you're alone in the darkness again. You just feel that he's gone. After another second (Or minute? Hour? Time is strange here) you feel lightheaded. Dizzy. Everything fades and goes out of focus.

When your vision returns to normal, you're back in Hotland with Mettaton's arm around your shoulder with only the memory of darkness and feeling like you need to run.

 


	48. Death by Lava

Holy fuck. Was that...? Was that a load? You glance at Frisk as they move behind you. Yes. Yes, it was.

_"RUN!"_

Again, you and Frisk take off towards the elevator. What can you do differently? Attack him first?

 _"I want you to go this time. I've fought him before,_ " Frisk fights your objection before you can say anything. 

"Okay." You don't like this, but you know that Frisk's right. It may have been a while, but they've fought Mettaton before. They can probably thrown him off. They run with you up until the final turn when they stop.

" _Go!"_

You really don't like this. You run though, run and slam your hand on the 'call' button. You glance over and you see Frisk fighting with Mettaton. You can't hear what they're saying, but it seems like he's pulling his punches with them. 

**Ding**

"FRISK!"

Frisk doesn't immediately run – you see them point behind Mettaton. He spins to look and then Frisk dashes towards you.

"Rude," Mettaton shrieks out.

"What did you do?" Frisk rushes into the elevator, slamming the button labeled 'H3'.

They're panting, but their voice is clear. " _I told them the guards with the shiny armor were coming up. I asked him if he'd seen himself in that body yet._ "

You snort as the elevator heads up. "Seriously? That worked?"

" _We need to run once we get up there. It won't take long once we're up there for him to catch up._ "

"Well, let's get ready to run then." Frisk reaches for your hand and squeezes.

 

* * *

 

"Another goddamn puzzle? Are you shitting me?" It's not just any puzzle, it's another vent puzzle. Except bigger. What is wrong with the concept of a giant sturdy bridge when you're three floors above lava? 

" _You should start a swear jar._ " If you live through this, you might. " _It's not a big deal. We'll do it together._ "

"Do you remember the solution Frisk?"

" _Uhh... not exactly._ " Great. Awesome. Perfect. You don't say anything out load since it's really not their fault, but this is just... Ugh. There's a ' **ding** ' and shit, you're out of time.

"No time Frisk, we've go to go!" You grab their hand and lead them into the first vent. Maybe you'll stumble onto the solution or at least, throw Mettaton off. "Lead the way, kid."

"One of you should just stop! Go out with a glamour! With poise! With dignity!" You hear the whistling sound again, but this time you're pushed out of the way and Frisk takes the hit. They flinch and stumble, but shake it off. On your way to the next platform, Mettaton manages to hit you as well.

You follow Frisk – jumping, running, staying a moving target from Mettaton. You spin, keeping eyes on Mettaton, only glancing behind you enough to make sure that you're following Frisk. Unforturntly, Mettaton apparently doesn't need the vents to clear the distance between platforms. Fucking robot legs. 

You're almost to the other side when Mettaton seemingly calculates a way to get to you. He makes two quick jumps, and suddenly, you don't have the luxury of space to try and dodge.

"Sans!" Frisk screeches out from behind you.

You glance behind you – there he is. You can see the white lights in his sockets darting all over the place. When you turn to face Mettaton again, you know that there's no way for him to predict movements to use his abilities or enough space for him to pull out a Blaster.

You're on the platform next to the actual path when you hear the whistling again. Frisk's SOUL has been pulled out – he's targeting them. No. You grab Frisk and throw them into the air stream towards Sans. Maybe you'll have time to move out of the way – No, Sans' sockets are too wide. He can't help you.

You spin back towards Mettaton and take the hit.

Everything goes black, but unlike the last time, you barely spend any time in the darkness. You don't know how you know that no time has passed, but you do.

You're right back where you were again. Hotland level two, with Mettaton still in his first body, and Frisk getting ready to flip that switch.

"Frisk, honey, go ahead toward the elevator. We'll meet you there. Let me talk to Mettaton alone for a second and we'll catch up." Frisk looks surprised as you nod your head and dart your eyes towards the elevator behind him. "Seriously, go."

*********************

When the world loads back, Sans is frozen. He'd just... You'd just... Right before his eyes. You'd died. He let you die... He needs to find you now.

Right as he opens the void he feels something grab his arm.

" _Sans!_ "

"grillby i don't have time for this, i need to find them! i just watched -"

" _I can help._ "

"by letting go. dammit, i just watched her die i don't -"

" _I can find her._ "

Wait, what? "i can too."

" _I can find her faster. I can use the bond._ " Sans feels himself nod and mumble out a hurry. Grillby gets a far off look for a few seconds. He doesn't know how long – every second seems like a lifetime. " _Got her. Heading toward Hotland level one._ "

That's different. He looks up to Grillby, who still has a hand on him. "grillbz -"

 _"I'm coming too._ "

 

* * *

 

Touching down in Hotland on the other side of Mettaton's cooking set, Sans is a ball of nerves. He can't let you get hurt again, but he also can't get caught short-cutting into a room with cameras. That would be too fucking stupid and he knows it and he has just enough patience left to care.

There you are. You're pushing Frisk forward, hot on their heels, followed off by a very pissed off Mettaton. He's thrilled – there's space between the two of you and Mettaton. Thank god.

Frisk sees the two of them first, and even from this distance and the speed that they're moving, he can see the determination in them. When you see them, he sees the same determination in your eyes too. Odd.

Get to them and you and Frisk are safe. There's still nothing he can really do without losing sight of Mettaton, but there isn't anything he can do without hurting you and Frisk as well. Once you're by his side, he'll trash that goddamn robot.

You're two platforms away when he hears the same sound that he heard before you died – Mettaton's goddamn bombs. No, he can't watch you die again. What can he do? He lets his magic pulse – what can he do?

He watches you spin, eyes wide in fear and – there's suddenly a wall of lava separating you guys from Mettaton. What the hell? He looks over and sees Grillby's flames flashing brighter, hand outstretched.

"holy shit, grillbz." He's never seen fire magic so powerful. Grillby only holds it for a second before he drops it. Mettaton is still coming this way, but now there's no way he can harm you two. You're safe.

As soon as you touch down, he knows what to do. (“get down!”) It's his turn to show of what his magic can do. He sees Frisk flinch –sorry, kid- as he looks for Mettaton's SOUL. Ah – there it is. The white upside down heart in his chest. Annnddd now he's blue.

For a second, he thinks about throwing Mettaton into the lava. No, he's not an animal. So he twitches the fingers of his left hand towards him, beckoning Mettaton over. Once Mettaton is in front of him, he quickly slams his left palm down. "Ow! Darling that hurts!" 

"whoops, my bad. i just figured you liked it rough since you're fucking with my humans, pal."

“Your humans, huh? At what price Sans? We’re all stuck down here! I was going -"

Sans feels anger spark in him again ;something he didn't know was possible at this point. He's never been so angry before, not even with Chara. The rage was like an inferno inside him, twisting itself around in his magic. He's barely aware of what he's doing when bones spear through Mettaton’s arms and legs.

“don't pretend that you weren’t being selfish, mettaton.”

Mettaton says nothing for once. Smart move.

"S-S-Sans! D-don't hurt him!" Of course. Alphys must have been watching the cameras and saw enough to piece together what was happening. She's running up behind them now.

"you saw what he was trying to do!"

"Sans, don't." He looks at you standing behind Mettaton now. He sees Frisk flinch, but not you. You weren't lying to him – you really weren't afraid of his magic anymore. "Be better than him."

He doesn't even consider ignoring you. You're right. He takes a deep breath and relaxes his magic. He lets Mettaton go.

"Now I need to go -" Mettaton stops mid sentence, his body freezing in place. He sees Alphys magic sparking around Mettaton's SOUL. She'd made a failsafe with his body. Genius.

"Y-You'll d-d-do no s-such thing Mettaton." Alphys is pissed. The grin on his face is real again – he's always wanted to see Alphys chew someone else out besides him and now he has a front row seat. "I d-d-didn't m-make you a b-body so you c-could hurt people! I m-made b-because we were friends and you wanted to make a difference!"

Mettaton does at least partially look ashamed of himself. "I'm trying to! You have two humans here and you only need one to break the barrier -" Sans' magic sparks in him and -

"N-no excuses! We're trying to break it w-without death. ---- is unique and we're making progress! And Frisk? Why would we WANT to kill ch-children if we have another choice?"

There's a second where Mettaton looks like he's going to retort, but as his mouth opens and he glares, his body twitches. His face goes expressionless and his body limp. What the hell?

"Of c-c-course his batteries would die n-now." Sans feels himself relax for the first time all day.

He looks to you again, but you aren't looking at him. Frisk and you are in Grillby's arms. His jealousy is still there, but it's muted. That bond had probably kept you from dying a third time. He hears Grillby talking to you, but not what he's saying. Grillby picks his head up and sees him watching. Grillby says something to you and you spin to look at him.

You're crying. Of course you are. You'd just died twice. Once right in front of him. What if you hated him now? He let you die. He didn't do anything. He just fucking stood there.

When you start walking towards him, Grillby still talking to Frisk and Alphys grumbling over Mettaton's powerless body, he's terrified. You stop a few feet away from him. God you can't even get close to him.

"babe i-"

You rush at him, wrapping your arms around him as soon as you're able to. Oh. You had thought he was still mad at you. He almost laughs as he pulls you closer. You're safe, mumbling frantically into his clavicle. You're safe.

You pull out from his chin, watery eyes wide, and sniffle.

"you're safe." He doesn't know if he's reassuring you or himself. Maybe both of you?

"I'm so sorry Sans. I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking. I just wanted to help. I love you. I love you so much. It's yours, whenever you want to see it. It's yours. I love you. I'm so, so, so sorry."

He feels his breath catch as you hide under his jaw again, trembling. You...? You love him? He feels a hysterical sob bubbling up. How -?

"you love me?"

"Yes. So much. So so much." Something explodes in his SOUL. He doesn't know what, or how, or anything besides that those words have changed him in some way. 

" _Sans? ----?"_  Frisk sounds scared. They're walking over slowly, like they don't belong. Ha. They'd saved you and before that, they'd wormed their way into his SOUL right along with you.

"come 'ere," he says as he pulls one arm from around you to make room for them, not even the least embarrassed when his voice cracks.

Frisk doesn’t say anything as they wrap around the two of you. You're both safe. Everything's fine. You two are safe. Shaken, but safe.

"S-Sans? C-can you h-help me g-g-get him b-back to the l-lab." He looks over to see Alphys looking genuinely sorry for interrupting.

'No' is on the tip of his tongue. Fuck Mettaton. He'd killed you – twice. Sans needs to make sure that you're both actually fine. Or that you'll be fine. He doesn’t want to let you out of his sight, let alone help the monster that did this.

" _I'll take them home, Sans_." Grillby is watching him with an almost pained look. "I'll take them back to your place and stay until Papyrus or you get back. Or to the Inn," he adds in English for Frisk and Alphys to hear.

He doesn't get to answer before you nod your head and pull away. "Sans, help Alph. I need a few minutes to c-calm down anyway. Where do you want us to w-wait at?" You're pulling yourself back together and he's kind of jealous. You wipe the tears from your eyes and take a deep breath. You're better at this than he is.

"my place. shower, eat, whatever you want or need." He sighs as he picks up Mettaton's body with his magic.

Let's get this over with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THERE! READER IS GOING TO DO IT.
> 
> Now you can stop yelling at me ;) For now.


	49. Feeling Alive

Opening your eyes a few hours later, you're lost. You're looking at the brothers' television. How had you gotten here? You had gone back to the Inn last night. You wipe at your eyes and – oh shit. That's how.

What a fucking day. So far: you'd met with Undyne to train that morning, had a fight with Sans, had a therapy session with Grillby, went to Alphys' lab, and gotten killed my Mettaton twice that day. All before dinner. Maybe you should just go back to sleep. You close your eyes again, determined to just try again tomorrow, when the door flies open and the person that you're (apparently) laying on jumps.

"BROTHER, IT WENT – IS EVERYTHING OKAY?"

"not really paps. 'splain later." Sans voice is higher up than you and also raspy from sleep. You give a low whine as you open your eyes and really take in what's going on.

You're sprawled out on the couch, Frisk half on top of you with their head on your stomach, and your head is on a pillow across Sans' femurs. You turn to look at him and he gives you a genuine smile as he slowly, like he's ready for you to stop him at any second, moves a hand to run his fingers through your hair.

"how you feeling?" You catch the double meaning.

"Sore and tired, but not bad, all things considered. You?"

He makes a sound of exasperation in his non-existent throat. "are you- ugh, i'm fine." You give him your best 'I know your full of shit, Sans' look and he gives a humorless chuckle. "i'm fine now. what about you, kid?"

" _I'm fine. Just really, really tired._ " You hadn't even noticed that Frisk had woken up. Frisk was actually the reason you were on the couch.

After Sans had picked Mettaton's body up with his magic, you all had followed him to Alphys lab. He'd stayed with Alphys for a few extra minutes while Grillby had taken you and Frisk straight to the Riverperson. Frisk had looked like death – their skin was pale and dark circles had formed under their eyes. You'd shot them into the brothers' shower, borrowed some of Sans' clothes for both of you, and you had followed once they were done.

After you'd scrubbed yourself clean (probably a little too harshly, your skin was slightly raw now), you'd come out to see Frisk leaning on Grillby on the couch. The three of you had snuggled up, not speaking, and the last thing you sort of remember from there was the feeling of something under your head moving. Apparently Grillby and Sans had traded places.

"Can I fix you anything?" Papyrus has lowered his voice, picking up that something was seriously wrong.

"yeah, i'll help you paps." Sans gently slips out from under you. "i'll explain what happened to him." He squeezes your hand gently. "get some more rest, i promise it'll help."

You wrap your arms around Frisk and close your eyes.

 

* * *

 

Dinner is more muted than normal, which you feel terrible for. Papyrus wasn't taking the news of Mettaton being a colossal douche well. He had accepted it though once he took another look at you and Frisk. Frisk seems too tired to talk and you don't know what to say. Sans keeps looking at you like he's waiting for you to have a nuclear meltdown. 

All in all, the three are you shitty company.

After dinner, you feel much stronger, but still not quite 'normal'. Your hands can't stop shaking and you're on edge. Frisk and Papyrus are already working on a movie when Sans wraps an arm around your waist.

"can we talk or do you want to wait until tomorrow?"

"Now," you say, afraid that if you don't do it now you never will.

"you guys go ahead and get started without us. ---- and i need to talk."

"ARE YOU BOTH SURE? WE CAN WAIT."

"Yeah, it'll probably be a while. We have a lot to talk about." Frisk and Papyrus don't fight you much, just go back to the movie, as Sans to your surprise tugs you outside. You'd been expecting to just go upstairs. Grillby's? No, he starts gently pulling you to his workshop.

"unless you want two nosy skulls pressed against my door, we should talk out here."

You feel your nerves growing with each step. The two of you had been awkward around each other all afternoon. He unlocks the door and follows you in – and the door is barely shut before he's pressing you into a wall, kissing you.

This isn't what you were expecting. Not that you're complaining.

"safe," he's mumbling under his breath in between kissing you. "you're safe now. fuck, i thought i'd lost you twice. almost lost you again. fuck, i'm sorry." You're lost.

"You aren't mad?"

Sans lets out a hysterical giggle against your lips. "no."

Just like that, whatever facade of normalcy crumbles inside of you and you feel the waterworks start back up. All the pent up emotions that'd been bubbling under the surface since this morning come out. You'd died. Twice. You're aware of him pulling you somewhere, of you ending up curled up in his lap, of him, but nothing else.

It's not enough.

You're yanking off your shoes, tugging his jacket down his shoulders. He shivers below you when you trace his teeth with your tongue and pulls away.

"thought you didn't like this thing?" You're kissing down his jaw when you hear him pat the bean bag.

"I don't. I just need you. Need this." His fingers skirt under your shirt and you shiver at the feeling of magic on your skin. "Need to feel alive."

Just like that, he's frantic too. He groans below you, moving his hands away from you to help you get him out of his jacket and shirt. You somehow (later you'll probably question how) shimmy out of your jeans and underwear without breaking away from his mouth let alone leaving his mouth.

"Magic. Now," you say as you straddle him. The look on his face becomes positively lecherous.

"you wanna go to the _bonezone_ that badly?"

"Sans. Really? Bonezone?" You want to be sassy, you really do, but you know the playful mask is still just that. A mask. This time, you can't blame him though. This mask is hiding how scared he was from you. You can let him have this. "You know what, fine. You're right. I do. So you gonna pop that _boner_ for me or...?"

Affection glimmers in his sockets before his left eye snaps blue. "Good choice." You run your fingers down his ribs, granting you another shudder from the skeleton under you. "I'm not usually one to rush, but I need you. Now. Is that neat little magic trick of yours an option?"

"which neat little magic trick?" His fingers are under your shirts again, tips dragging down your spine. "huh, there are those strange little bumps again..."

"Whatever you did in the lab last timeline. And those are goosebumps."

"goosebumps..." He's distracted, one hand now running down your arm. He's so... something (you can't think of the word right now) sometimes. You get the distinct feeling that he'd get distracted even if you were a monster like him, but being a human? If you'd let him, you get the feeling that he'd spend hours just examining you.

One day, in a bed, you might just let him.

"Sans."

"huh? oh, yeah." His grin becomes predatory. "i can do that again." Just like that, another wave of arousal rushes over you. You smirk, moving just enough to pull his shorts down enough to free his cock. "what are you doing?"

You don't say anything, you just lower yourself on him. You both moan at the delicious feeling of finally being connected, your hands gripping his shoulders and his fingers digging into your hips. "fuck, babe. feels so good."

You start slow, partially for effect and partially to avoid breaking a hip on the shifting surface. Sans surprises you, following your lead, his hips rolling in time with yours. He's usually rougher, more dominant, but now? Maybe you're not the only one reveling in the fact that you're alive.

A well-timed thrust against a spot into you that only he knows how to hit has you seeing stars has you whispering his name. Wait.

"Sans." He moans lowly into your neck, nipping at you. "This place is basically soundproof right?" There's a low 'mm-hmm' as you feel his tongue trailing up your neck towards your ear. For the first time, you don't have to be quiet.

When he hits that spot again, you don't muffle yourself.

"holy shit, babe." His easy going pace stutters. He doesn't lower his voice either – it's struck him too. You're truly alone for the first time. "fuuuuccckkk." You run your fingers down his ribs, tracing in and behind them. The breathy sound he makes goes straight to the tension in your lower belly.

One of you changes the pace (Who? Does it matter?) and suddenly Sans falls backwards onto his back. You accidentally grab his ribs to keep yourself from falling - you instantly let go,"Shit, sor-"-when Sans bucks up hard, arching into you, and lets out the most erotic sound you've ever heard.

"holy fuck," he's panting now. "do that again."

You carefully drop your hands to his ribs and cautiously grip them again. He shudders and when you slowly shift some of your weight onto him, that sound escapes him again. This time you shiver, the sight of him like this alone nearly sending you over the edge. You whine out something that you meant to be his name.

His fingers are digging into your hips rough enough to bruise and when you really look at him, you almost come unglued at the sight. He's a vision in his own way – sweaty skull tossed back, mouth open wide, tongue lolled out, with his visible eye flashing aqua and yellow in tune with his thrusting behind his lidded sockets. Your inner muscles flutter around him and he groans out your name.

"more. please, more." Who are you to deny him? When one had trails lower on you, finding your clit with fingers that have magic sparking in them, you nearly scream this time.

It doesn't take long after that until his bones rattle beneath you. "come with me," his voice is low growl. "can't hold back much longer. come with me."

You whimper. So close – the earnest desire in his voice has you right there. "I love you," you whine out.

It's like those were the magic words. The magic in his eye sparks, he rolls his hips one more time before pressing into you, and your orgasm courses through you. It's powerful, magical, overwhelming, and wonderful sharing this with Sans.

Coming down, you smile at Sans below you. He's flushed just like you are, his one colorful eye meeting your gaze as he pulls himself up onto his elbows. You press yourself to him again while your mind wanders.

Pants.

Luckily, they're within reach.

"whaddya doing?"

"Pants."

"don't go," he whines. "just enjoy this for a few minutes. please?"

You can't help the giggle that escapes you as he throbs in you. "I'd love to, but I also don't want to make a mess of this thing. Your sheets come clean. This...probably won't."

"fine," he says, his voice a playful grumble. He leans over a bit, grabs your panties, and tosses your pants across the room. "no pants though." You smirk and toss his shirt as far as you can. It's only fair, after all.

In a practiced shift (although, you could do with practicing this more often than you do) you feel him disappear and you pull your underwear back on and toss his jacket over your legs as you cuddle up with Sans.

"I mean it you know," you say after a few minutes of just being wrapped in his arms. "I love you."

You hear that strange choked breath again. "how do you know?"

You shrug your shoulders as much as you can and pull back just enough to look at him. "How does anyone know? It's a feeling in here." You grab his hand and place it over your heart.

"monsters know," he says, his voice low. You feel like an absolute ass. That's why he wanted to see your SOUL so badly, wasn't it?

"Call it a human leap of faith then," you say, lowering your voice again. There's the angry feeling in your chest again, the dread in your SOUL.

No. Not this time.

"You can see it. I meant that too."

Sans' sockets go wide in apparent disbelief. "you...? now?" He makes a sound like he's clearing his throat as you say 'yes'. "what changed? for the past month you've been dodging me."

"I died twice today. If it wasn't for Frisk, I would have died and you never would have known how I felt about you. Grillby was right. I'm wasting the time we do have." You shake your head to try and help clear it. "Dying takes away a lot of stupid nerves. Puts things into perspective. I want you to know. Hell, I want to know too."

Slowly, you watch his left hand head towards your chest. "grillby didn't tell me why, but he did give me a hint. are you... are you running from something about your SOUL?" You just nod your head – you can't talk right now. The feeling of fear, of dread, of desperation to get out of this situation is too strong to talk around.

His left hand is against your sternum before he meets your eyes again. He pulls you closer with his other hand and finds you mouth with his. You lose yourself in his kiss. Just do it, Sans.

"no." What? "not like this. not hidden in my fucking workshop. not because that fucking asshole..." He takes a deep breath as he pulls away from you and you feel the dread leave. "let's get rid of the kid and paps. i have a full day off in three days. let's send them off for the day or something. then let's do this."

You feel the smile hit your face. "Aren't you quite the romantic?"

"trying to be."

"Let's do it."

He's giving you the biggest smile you've ever seen as he presses back into you for another kiss. It's another few minutes before either of you speaks again.

"'m sorry. i just couldn't..." You know that he's talking about when he couldn't save you.

"I know. There's nothing you could have done." He's looking at you like you're something precious now.

"move in with us." Huh? What? Where had that come from? "paps brought it up weeks ago and i... fuck, it's been in my head since then. move in with me. i want to know that you're safe. want you with me. frisk too."

"What if the SOUL thing happens and we aren't-"

"you think I'll just stop caring about you? that i'll just toss you aside like that?"

"No, I don't." You lick your lips and bite your lip out of nervousness. This is big, but it doesn't feel _wrong_. "I'm not saying no, okay? Just not yet. Let's see how this SOUL thing works and I need to see what Frisk's doing. If they're not going to go stay with Tori, it's up to them too. And I should give Bunny some notice since I'm basically a tenant now."

"that's fair." He's grinning over at you, hope dancing in his eyes. "spend the night tonight?"

"I can't," you say and his smile falters. "Not because I don't want to! Frisk is probably going to have nightmares tonight too and I want to be there for them. You're more than welcome to stay with us tonight. If you want to."

"i'd love to."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fully believe that Sans would be a romantic sappy goober.


	50. Fallout

That night as he's reading to Papyrus, Sans feels his phone buzz in his pajama pocket. He'd already told Paps that he wouldn't be here tonight so he hopes that you haven't changed your mind. He's probably going to have nightmares tonight too. He needs you tonight for a very similar reason that Frisk probably does.

"BROTHER, MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE ON TIME IN THE MORNING."

"of course."

To ground him to this timeline. To reality. He needs you to be his tether to this life.

When he tip-toes out of Papyrus' room, he opens his phone.

**You: Don't shortcut up. Come up the stairs. The door is unlocked :)**

He feels his SOUL give a pleasant twist. You're showing him off. He's never had anyone be this open with him. He's never been shown off. He was never a dirty little secret for anyone, but he's never had anyone flaunt him either. It's nice.

He grabs his bag (Papyrus had thrown in some fresh clothes along with some homemade breakfast food in it at the news of him staying the night with you and Frisk) and shortcuts to the side of the Inn, walking to the door. Deep breath. This is weird. He pushes in the door.

"Good evening Sans!"

"'evening bunny. how's it going?"

"Did they forget something over there again?" Bunny smiles at him – she's clearly grown fond of the two of you.

He awkwardly plays with the strap on his shoulder. "not exactly."

"Oh!" Her smile grows and he feels the blush heat up his bones. "How sweet. Who would have thought Sans the skeleton would become a step-father? See you in the morning."

He blushes as he climbs the stairs. Step-father? Is that what everyone thought? They aren't right, but they aren't exactly wrong either. His relationship with Frisk may be complicated, but they are his. Pushing into your room, he smiles at the sight that greets him.

You're behind Frisk, brushing their shaggy hair. He's never seen it so long.

It dawns on him then. The resets are over. It's been longer than the previous timeline again and nothing has gone wrong. Chara's gone, this is the longest that there hasn't been a reset, and Frisk is growing. It stops him in his tracks and takes his breath away.

" _Sans! ---- won't cut my hair!_ " He feels incredibly lucky all of a sudden.

"I won't on the bed," you grumble. "Or at night."

"well _comb_ over here. i'll do it." You groan, he laughs, and Frisk starts to crawl across the bed to get to him.

"Are you really going to trust the guy who can't grow hair to cut yours?" Frisk freezes, their eyes wide. "Didn't think so. Pick a spot, kid."

Sans remembers himself then. This could be his life. It's all he can think about as he tosses his bag down and slides into bed next to you. So long as Frisk never thinks they need to reset, they all can move on.

After a round of 'goodnights' and a few minutes of lights out, Frisk starts to breathe heavier. They're asleep.

"What's wrong?" Your voice is quite near the side of his skull.

"nothin. really. i'm just...happy." He snuggles up close to you and closes his eyes.

Family. You may not all be under one roof right now, but Papyrus had been right. Two lost humans and two abandoned skeleton monsters. _Family._

 

********************

 

Waking up that morning is nice. You open your eyes, see Frisk asleep in front of you and feel Sans spooning you. Him staying the night had been a good call. The three of you had had nightmares all night. Frisk's nightmares had been the loudest, but you'd wake up and need to look at the two of them and you'd felt Sans' grip tighten around you a few times that night.

You stretch as best you can with your boyfriend's arms tightening at your perceived attempted escape. Two more days until you –hopefully- get a day for just the two of you.

"wha' time is it?" You hadn't even noticed that he'd woken up. His eyes are closed still and he presses to you.

"I dunno." He gives a low groan before summoning his phone with his magic.

Once it's in his hand, he peeks open an eye. "fuck. i hate morning shifts. i gotta go."

"You hate working in general."

He gives a low scoff. "well, i hate morning shifts in particular."

Sans peels himself from you and the bed, grumbling all the way to the bathroom with his bag in hand. You giggle quietly and glance at the still sleeping Frisk. They'd tossed and turned all night, sleeping worse than either you or Sans. Poor kid.

It takes no time for Sans to come out of the bathroom, still grumbling under his breath until he locks eyes with you. There's that same look on his face that was there last night when he came into the room. It's hunger, but it's a different kind of hunger than the one you usually get from him. He may not know what he's feeling, but you do. That look - that's love.

He snaps out of quicker than he did last night, coming over to you to press a kiss to your forehead. He presses two small bags of food on the bed (aww, Papyrus!) before telling you he'll see you later.

You lay back down, munching on whatever delicious monster food this was, and zone out for a few minutes. It's nice to just be able to center yourself, to decompress, for a few minutes with no one watching. What a crazy twenty-four hours.

A few minutes later, an incredibly long-suffering sigh breaks the peaceful silence.

"How'd you sleep?"

" _Not good._ " Frisk's voice sounds tired still.

"Mettaton?" You hear a low 'mmhmm' as you offer them the other bag of food. "Are you alright?"

" _Loading was hard to do yesterday. I almost forgot how to do it._ " They nibble on their lip for a second, watching you. You just raise an eyebrow at them. " _I'm sorry, I should have told you that I can still save. I started saving every afternoon just in case and I didn't want you to worry and_ -"

"Frisk, it's fine. Really. If you hadn't been saving, who knows what would happen? Start over from three months ago again? Would I even be here if you had to reset?"

" _You're not mad at me?_ "

You giggle as you wrap an arm around them. Is this what you had sounded like last night with Sans? "No. It doesn't matter. We're here. We're safe."

All of sudden, you hear a commotion from downstairs. It sounds like a giant crash. Did Bunny drop something? No, there's the sound of someone stomping up the stairs now. What the -

Just like that, a blur of blue scales and red hair bursts through your door. You jump up and -

"Undyne?" She's running her good eye over the both of you.

"You- you punks! How come you didn't call and tell me last night? I had to find out through Alphys!" Undyne is furious – she's practically snarling at you two. Oh shit.

"I left the phone here."

" _We got back late._ " Frisk gulps next to you.

The anger drains from Undyne's posture as she gently closes the door behind her. "Are you two alright? I knew he was an ass, I never thought that he'd try and kill you himself."

" _We're fine. Tired, but fine_ ," Frisk answers for you.

"I know there's no training today, but I'll go with you to Alphys today. I might train with you a bit there, if you're up to it."

"That sounds good." You grab your phone and type out a message to Sans, letting him know what was going on.

 

* * *

 

“I’m s-s-so s-s-s-sorry!” Alphys takes one look at you and Frisk and starts wailing when you walk in the door.

“Alphys, we’re fine!”

“ _It's not your fault!_ ”

“B-b-but it is!” She buries her face in her hands and starts sobbing.

This is awkward. You wrap an arm around the yellow monster as Undyne shoves her hands in her pockets. You want to use this to your advantage. How? How can you work this? Frisk has wrapped Alphys in a hug, whispering reassurances.

Oh, you know what to do. If there's one person besides you that wants Alphys and Undyne together, it's Frisk. Frisk may just be the best little matchmaker on the planet (not wingman - best wingman goes to Papyrus). So, you discreetly nudge their foot with yours twice. Brown eyes meet yours and you dart yours towards Undyne twice.

A small smirk starts to form on Frisk's face. They slowly let go of Alphys and go towards Undyne. Perfect.

"Alphys, some good has come of this." You say, keeping your voice low. "I'm going to do it. I'm going to show Sans."

Alphys pulls away and shrieks. "OH MY G-GOD. R-REALLY?" Alphys had told you ages ago that she knew about you and Sans – and that she "shipped the two of you so hard"and you had started to confide in her over time. "THAT'S GR-GREAT."

Undyne and Frisk are now staring at the two of you, causing both you and the woman next to you to go red. There's an anime-esqe moment of awkward silence before Frisk and Undyne start talking again.

"Wh-what d-do you n-need?" Alphys' face is still red, but she's lowered her voice.

"Can I have the day after tomorrow off? We're, uh, trying to get Paps to take Frisk for the day and... uh..." Your face goes redder. Talking about your plans to finally get your boyfriend alone is awkward.

"I c-can d-do th-that and d-do you one b-better! You c-can use my pr-private room at the r-resort!" Um, what? "As th-thanks M-Mettaton gave m-me my own r-room to use at the r-resort. Don't worry, he won't b-be there. He'll b-be here f-for at least another week."

"He's here?" Alphys sheepishly nods, pointing upstairs. "I'll, uh, talk to Sans. That sounds nice though." You glance upstairs, feeling nervous.

"H-he's s-still c-charging, s-so he c-can't move."

You glance over at Frisk and Undyne, who are moving on from conversation to self-defense. Figures. "Can I talk to him?"

Alphys bites her lip. "O-of c-course. W-would you l-like me to st-stay with you?"

"Please?" She grabs your hand and the two of you quietly make your way upstairs. There he is in that new body on her table. Well, part of it. He's missing his limbs, which you assume are downstairs being repaired. She looks at you, double checking that you want this, before she flicks the power button on.

He doesn't open his eyes, but he does frown. "Alphys, I thought I said not to turn me on until I at least have arms again. Is that so much to -"

"You make a lot of demands for being an attempted murderer." At your voice, his eyes snap open. He looks terrified for a second as his eyes scan the room, presumably for Sans. He looks so helpless that it honestly drains just a bit of the anger from you. "Relax. I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to talk. Which is WAY more than you deserve, by the way."

The terror slowly slips from his face, slipping into resignation. He doesn't speak.

"Talk. Tell me why."

"Why?" Mettaton finally speaks, scoffing at you. "You know why."

"No, I don't. You've known me for months now. We weren't friends by any stretch of the imagination, but why now? Why wait until I trust you? What changed?"

He heaves a dramatic sigh, glancing towards Alphys. Oh _hell_ no.

"Y-you aren't g-getting out of t-this M-Mettaton! T-tell h-her!"

"Fine. No one else is going to do it obviously, so I stepped up to the plate. Things get worse down here yearly and we have everyone covering up your existence! It wouldn't be an issue if it was just experimenting, but noooo. Everyone loves you. Alphys and Undyne are your friends. That stupid skeleton is falling in love with you. They'll keep hiding you and the child."

He takes a deep breath. "It's a fucking conspiracy. The Royal Scientist, the Captain of the Royal Guard, and the King's Judge are protecting you. And because they care they won't harm a hair on that pretty little head of yours, my cousins are suffering! Everyone is suffering! What are we supposed to do? Wait until you drop dead of old age to take your SOUL?"

You can't believe it. Mettaton was actually selfless in his reasons. His eyes may be robotic, but the passion in them is real. "So why chase me around Hotland? Why not just kill me here?"

"I was trying to take you to the CORE, actually. Less of a distance to carry a body. But I was trying to get you to provoke you to fight back. Others in the underground care for you too. Human or not, if I just killed you, they'd be outraged. So I was trying to make you the enemy. It couldn't be a hidden thing, you see."

He's telling the truth. It kills you. You want to hate him. You want to hate him so badly, but his reasoning... You can't. You don't have to like it, or him, but you can't fault his reasoning. You jump when Alphys touches your shoulder.

"One of my cousins just keeps getting angrier and angrier and the other... He's spending almost all his time crying in the ruins! I don't know -"

Hold up. Only one monster could go in and out of the ruins that you knew of.

"Blooky's your cousin?" No way. Not possible that a ghost and a robot could be - "Wait a minute, you're a ghost?"

"Yes, darling." He's shooting you an exasperated look. "I'm a ghost. Alphys made me this body. How do you know Blooky?"

"He was probably my best friend besides T- er, the woman that took us in, in the ruins. I've been to see him a few times at his place." Mettaton is now looking anywhere but at you.

Wait a second.

You finally crack. You draw your hand back and slap him straight across his face.

FUCK THAT HURT. Metal, ----, he's made of metal!

"YOU COLOSSAL ASSHOLE. HE'S SAD BECAUSE OF YOU! YOU LEFT HIM ALONE IN WATERFALL WITHOUT A WORD!"

Mettaton is staring at you, jaw agape. For a second, there's no sound at all.

Then Frisk and Undyne bellow out laughter from downstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you ready to screech some more at Mettaton? 'Cuz that's happening. 
> 
> ALSO HOLY FUCK 50 CHAPTERS.


	51. Friends?

You probably shouldn't have screamed that last bit. Or slapped him. 

"Er, Alphys? Can I have some sort of monster food? My hand is killing me." You wiggle your fingers – they all move. Make a fist – okay, you can do that. It stings and hurts, but nothing seems to be broken. Alphys is looking between you and Mettaton again, worried. "I won't hit him again. Learned my lesson."  

With that, she rushes off to grab you something to heal with. You watch her leave before you flick your focus back to Mettaton. He's managed to snap his mouth shut and is studying you with interest.  

"My fault, huh?" Umm... had Napstablook confided in you about his cousin this timeline or last? Shit. It's too late to stop now. 

"Maybe not completely, but yeah. You just vanished one day, right? Not a word until he saw you on tv?"  

Mettaton hangs his head, taking a deep breath. He pulls up after a second, flipping his hair out of his face. "We didn't know if this would work. If a ghost would be able to fuse with a solid object to become corporeal and then manipulate an entire body from it. If it went wrong... If I got stuck not being able to communicate... I didn't want him to know what happened."  

"Are you acting right now or is this real?" 

"Real," he says, voice barely above a breathy whisper. You close your eyes and pinch the bridge of your nose with the hand that doesn’t sting. Dammit, isn't there just one monster that you could just hate?  

But you can't. 

So instead of storming off, you gently clasp  Mettaton's shoulder. You are far too forgiving for your own good.  

"I'm still pissed as hell, and I really think that your body would look great in a trash compactor right now, but as long as you don't try anything like this again... At least behind my back, I'm willing to put this behind us."  

His head snaps up and his eyes meet yours. "Really?"  

"Really," you say. You can't help but feel that you're doing the right thing. "Just have faith in Alphys for a while longer. We're trying. I'll break the barrier one of these days, one way or the other. It won't be fifty years in the future either." 

His magenta irises survey your face. "You're serious. You're really willing to die for us, aren't you?" You shush him quickly. 

"Yes, but not everyone needs to know. Especially Frisk." 

"And your boyfriend?"  

"Him either," you sigh. "I don't want to die, but I want him and Papyrus... everyone... everyone deserves freedom here." 

He smiles at you ruefully. "Your secret is safe with me. I promise, no underhanded assassination attempts from here on out. I'll at least let you know before I try to kill you next time. I know asking to be friends would be too much, but how would you like to be my human consultant once I get my arms and legs back?" 

For the first time ever in the robot (or rather, ghost's) presence you relax and laugh. "Probably not, but as a human, I gotta ask you – those boots. Seriously?"  

 

* * *

 

All of you are upstairs talking when Sans comes up. You and Frisk smile and wave. The other three all having varying expressions of fear and concern. His eyes narrow at Mettaton and - 

"Sans, don't." You can't believe you're sticking up for him. "He has no arms and legs right now."  

Sans looks like you've stuck a peeled lemon in his mouth. "seriously?" 

You go with the girlfriend route rather than openly debating with him in front of everyone. Yes, he's been doing this for longer. Yes, he's brilliant. Yes, he has self-control.  However, he's still reeling from you dying – not that you're over it either, but there's no point in holding onto the anger. In this timeline, you'd never died. So you walk over to him, throwing flirtation into your step. 

His eyes narrow more, suspicious of you. As he should be. Once you get close, you lower voice. "I'm still mad too Sans, but not at this Mettaton. I'll explain later, promise. But... Sans, we have a place to go in two days. To be alone. Really alone" 

It takes Sans a second to get it. "where?" 

"Alphys' room at the resort. He'll be here for a few more days at least and -" 

"fine. not over being mad, but i can play nice." He gives your hand a squeeze. "'sup guys?" 

The tension in the room cracks at that. It's fun, watching Sans in his element, reconnecting with Alphys, sort of being a part of the work on your SOUL (not seeing it or the notes on it, but still), seeing this part of your life. You don't even bat an eye when the two of them ask you three to go downstairs to talk to Mettaton alone. 

 

* * *

 

That night at dinner, it dawns on you. 

"Oh my God. I'm SO SORRY. Papyrus, how did it go?" In the rush of yesterday, you'd completely forgotten about his meeting with Asgore. Frisk gets a guilty look on their face, although Sans just shakes his head.  

You and Frisk sure are great ambassadors for humanity.  

"IT WENT GREAT! AND IT'S FINE! You two had a bad day yesterday, I wouldn't dream of being mad at either of you." Papyrus truly is the greatest.   

"So what's the verdict?" 

"HE'S GOING TO COME TO A FEW OF THE MEETINGS THIS MONTH AND DECIDE BEFORE UNDYNE AND HIM MEET NEXT MONTH!" 

"That's amazing news!" 

" _Go Paps!"_  

"How are you two holding up?" Papyrus drops his voice to a lower pitch, despite everyone being at the table.  

" _I'm ok. It was scary, but it's over!"_ Frisk smiles over at Papyrus. 

"I'm fine. I talked to Mettaton today.” 

Papyrus gasps. “WAS HE SORRY? I BET HE WAS!” Sans just snorts and you think you hear a grumble about ‘sorry-ass acting’. 

“Er, kind of.” 

“ _\----_ _called him a-“_  

 _“_ How about you not repeat those words, Frisk.” 

“ _And she slapped him,”_ Frisk says as they dissolve into giggles again. 

“you slapped him?” 

“---- WAS VIOLENCE NECESSARY?” 

“Yes, I did and I thought I broke my hand at first. No, I just lost my temper since it turns out we have a mutual friend that he's been a jerk to.” You sigh, looking over at Frisk, who's still cracking up. “And slapping people isn't a good way to express anger, alright?”  

“ _Right!”_  

“i think you're my favorite person ever. oh man, you slapped him. gold. i'd pay gold to have seen that. can you do it again?” Sans looks incredibly pleased with you.  

Which, of course, starts a disagreement with Papyrus.  

 

* * *

 

The next morning, you go to Undyne's place alone. Frisk had decided to hang out with Papyrus instead today, since Undyne won't fight with them. She might gently practice some self-defense moves, but much to Frisk's chagrin, she won't touch them.  

So here you are, fighting in Undyne's yard once again.  

You're glad Frisk didn't come today. Undyne is absolutely vicious. She's not going for the kill, but she's at least intending to knock your ass out. So you fight, dragging yourself through Undyne's onslaught.  

"Your spears aren't goddamn bombs," you say, well try to say. You're mostly panting.  

"So his attacks explode. What difference does it make?" She's breathing heavy, but still able to form a sentence without struggling.  

"A ranged explosion? WHOA HEY!" Undyne had thrown another spear at you while you were thinking.  

Undyne's sharp teeth smirk over at you. "Don't lose focus while your SOUL's out. If it's out, you're in danger. Relax, it wouldn't have even knocked you out." You just glare until she drops your SOUL back into your body. "Tea before Alphys?" 

"Please." 

She gestures you into her home and you still, even after months of this, aren't used to how cute it is. The light blue and pink a wallpaper and the piano...  It's still not quite what you think of when you think of Undyne. Her suit of armor sprawled out on her table, in the midst of being polished. That's her. A warrior.  

She notices your staring and chuckles. "It doesn't bite you know."  

"I know." You and Undyne are friends (somehow, you aren't quite sure how that happened yet), but you don't know her like you do Alphys. "How old are you? What? We hang out at least every three days and I don't know anything about you." 

She rolls her one eye at you. "I'm twenty-nine. What?"  

"Only twenty-nine?" 

"You saying I look old, punk?" Her eyes narrow and she's about to slip into her captain persona.  

"No! No, no, no!" Don't insult the fish lady. "It's just impressive! A woman captain as young as you are."  You gulp, her eyebrows still narrowed at you for a second, before in the snap of a finger she's relaxed and smiling.  

"Impressive?"  

"Yeah, on the surface it's still hard for women in what's viewed as a 'man's job' sometimes. You're a female captain that reports directly to the King! And you're young!"  

An incredibly pleased expression shifts onto her face in front of you as she hands you your tea. "That's stupid, but please, don't stop with the praise."  

"Did you always want to be captain?" You take a sip. The golden flower tea is growing on you. It helps that the second you take a sip, you feel your SOUL begin to heal.  

"No." She's watching you now, not saying anything more. She's biting her lip with one incredibly sharp incisor (how isn't she piercing her lip with that tooth?).  

"Sorry, I didn't mean to touch on anything super personal." 

"Teacher." Huh? "I wanted to be a teacher up until I was about fourteen. Even when I was a kid, I liked kids." Honestly, now that she said it, you could see it. Undyne was a natural teacher and good with Frisk and MK. 

"I could see it. If you can teach me how to defend myself, I bet you could teach anyone anything." You don't say anything else. Her pause tells you that this is personal, that this is really close to her chest. 

"Don't you want to know why?" Undyne watches you, interest on her face. You're interesting her again.  

"Not unless you want to share." She's playing with her teacup in her hands, lost in thought again. 

Without a word, she taps her eye-patch. "This happened. This changed me. You and the kid aren't the first humans I've met."  

"A...a human did that? The last kid that fell did that?" Your jaw drops.  

"They were my age so not exactly a small child, you know? I met them in Waterfall. They hadn't killed anyone, but the Royal Guard still knew they were here. I was curious. It took the Guard forever to find them. I befriended them, bringing them food in return for them just talking to me."  

Her eye is misty, looking far away into her past. "I was with them when the Guard found them. They didn't want to die, not that I blame them. So they took me hostage. Well, as much of a hostage as a person can be when they actively agree to be one. God, Gerson tried. Tried to get them to release me. They did. They just sliced my eye when they tossed me to Gerson as a distraction." 

"I tried to help them, did it on purpose, and they took something that I took for granted from me." 

"Jesus, Undyne. I'm sorry. No wonder you didn't like me." You gently walk up to her and touch her arm. Undyne's hatred of humanity makes sense. Her hatred of you last timeline. No wonder she hadn't trusted you at all, finding you like that in Waterfall. Hearing that Alphys had known that you were here and hid it must have broken her. 

So why was it different _now?_ What had happened behind the scenes to change this?  

"So I decided to learn from Gerson. He took me under his wing, took me to Asgore, and between the two of them they channeled my hurt into something productive. Taught me how to defend myself. I survived that because of them. I'm me because of them. I was surprisingly good at it after I stopped jumping at shadows. So I pushed Gerson the way Papyrus is pushing me and here I am." 

The two of you don't say anything more to each other for a long time. You just drink tea in silence until you start making small talk. Before you go, Undyne stops you. 

"Thank you. Thank you and Frisk for showing me that not all humans would do what that last one did to me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not ahead anymore chapter-wise. Spawn has his first tooth coming in and it's been _rough_. I don't know if there will be a chapter in this tomorrow or not :(


	52. I'll Tell You My Sins

_"So tomorrow's the day, huh?"_  

_"_ Yep." 

" _Nervous?"_ Grillby leans on the bar in front of you, mischief in his flames. 

"Only a little bit. I'm only half debating running around in the snow tonight with wet hair so that I can be sick tomorrow." Grillby chuckles lowly at you before looking over his bar. 

Tomorrow's the day. Papyrus had agreed to watch Frisk for the day so you and Sans get to spend one glorious day in bed, alone together, with practically no chance of anyone ~~saving you~~ – err, interrupting you. The dread in your SOUL is at a constant buzz, low and consistent.  

So, in order to keep yourself from doing something stupid, here you are. You are doing what any responsible person of the legal drinking age that likes to drink is doing – getting absolutely trashed. Well, semi-trashed.  

Ok, not trashed at all since Frisk is here with you, but you are getting tipsy. The bar is reasonably busy- Undyne and two guys you'd only seen in passing coming out to join in a poker tournament. You'd tossed Frisk some gold this time.  

"What should I expect?"  

" _Sex. Lots and lots of sex."_ You groan, chugging the rest of your drink, face reddening.  

"Goddammit Grillby. Really?" He grins and before he can say 'really', you keep talking. "I meant with the SOUL thing. What's it like?"  

This time, it's Grillby that blushes based on the sudden red and blue that hit his cheeks. " _You realize that this is incredibly personal, right?_ " You just stare, pushing your empty glass towards him with two fingers. " _Of course you do. Specifics, please._ " 

"What does it mean?" 

" _I said specifics. As in 'be clearer'."_  

"As in what does it mean if we 'click' or whatever?" 

" _It means that the two of you could be good together._ " Clear, Grillby. Very clear. You smack your forehead against the bar. 

"So how about that neat little 'the floor is lava' trick, huh?" You grin as Grillby blushes more. "Tell me about how long you've been able to do that." 

 

* * *

 

The next morning, you wake up with a hangover and a text from Grillby.  

**Fireman: The 'SOUL thing' is amazing and will change you for the better. Once you see how compatible you and Sans are, everything in the universe will rearrange and you'll never be the same in the best way possible. That's what it's like.**  

You can't stop the groan that escapes you when you read it combined with your aching skull. You close your eyes. You need monster food. You drank too much last night. Playing chicken with a buzz (monster alcohol, monster tea, monster alcohol, tea, and repeat) apparently wasn't the greatest idea.  

"FRISK! ARE YOU READY FOR A DAY OF FUN?"  

Scratch that. No 'apparently' about it. Never again.  

" _YES!"_ Whhhhyyyyyyy? Frisk, why are you so loud? " _See you later sis! Good luck!"_ At least they shut the door gently behind them. Good, back to sleep.  

"hey." Or not. 

"Hey Sans," you say. Or rather groan. "Not you. Hangover."  

He chuckles lowly as you feel the bed dip under his weight. "oh man and my brother and frisk just screamed around you. i have some monster candy if you want some." 

"Please?" You giggle as Sans feeds it to you, running his phalanges over your scalp until your head stops hurting. "You're such a sap, you know that, right?"  

"heh, only for paps, you, and the kid so keep it on the low, would ya?" Your SOUL gives a nice little twist at the inclusion of Frisk.  

"Of course. Can't have anyone else knowing that you're actually sappy to the bone instead of bad to the bone, can we?"  He quietly laughs and you open your eyes.  

Sans has changed over the past three months. The perpetual dark circles around his sockets are gone now – they still appear sometimes, but they aren't 'normal' anymore. The lights in his eyes are brighter, even his grin seems more genuine.  

"what?" 

"You. You look so much happier now."  

"damn. i liked being all dark and broody." You press a kiss to his teeth and he sticks out his tongue. "stop surprising me with those." 

"Never." You try to sneak another kiss, but he's expecting you this time. His oddly bony lips meet yours. 

"so, uh, you're going to be mad." 

"Why?"  After a kiss like that, you doubt that you can be mad. 

"i have to work for a bit this morning. not long, but still. i promised you a day." 

"It's fine, if Undyne needs you-"  

"it's not undyne. asgore. for the first time in years, i have to be a judge." He makes a face that shows off his disdain for this.  

"Really? That sounds cool." Great, more time to be nervous. At least you get to sleep in. Sans pulls the blankets off you.  

Or not. 

"Whhhyyy?"  

"get dressed, i'm going to take you to the resort first. don't want someone stealing you away just 'cause i have to be somewhere for an hour or so." 

You sigh, grumbling as you make your way past him, ignoring his wolf-whistle as you strip. Wait a second - 

"Did you just whistle?" 

"yup. magic sure is something." 

You roll your eyes as you dress. He playfully grabs your arm as you leave and, saying bye to Bunny, takes you into the void as you exit the building. 

 

* * *

 

Alphys' room at the inn is essentially a penthouse. At least Mettaton isn't a completely horrible friend to her. Sans had gotten a key with you and escorted you up here (presumably so he could just shortcut in and out whenever) and even he'd been shocked by the room.  

So now you're here alone trying to avoid getting cold feet. Today's the day. Today's the day that he sees your SOUL. Today's the day and – Nope. Nope. Nope.  

Nap. You're going to go back to sleep like you were planning on doing this morning. That's what you're going to do. Not think about how this could go wrong. 

 

* * *

 

 

You wake up to the feeling of the bed dipping with extra weight and huff out a sound of irritation. You hadn't expected to actually fall asleep, but damn if it hadn't been nice to. 

"sorry, didn't mean to wake you. just wanted to join you in one of my favorite pastimes." You giggle, aggravation melting, when Sans wraps his arms around you. "i brought lunch up though if you're hungry." 

"Lunch? How long was I asleep for?"  

"few hours. asgore held me hostage for tea and to catch up after his meeting." Sans gives you what can only be described as a hangdog look. "didn't mean to be gone so long." 

"I don't mind. It's not like you can just say 'yo, king asgore, gotta go - i have a date with the human i've been fucking for a few months'."  

"your impressions of me really are terrible. at least throw in some puns."  He winks, pulling away to toss you some food. 

"You're terrible. Mettaton food. Seriously? I may have died between then and now, but think I'm still traumatized by Mettaton themed food."  

"i'm not terrible - i'm _humorous_ ," he says, chuckling at your groan. "don't worry, what burgerpants makes is pretty good. it may be shaped like him, but bp holds zero love for the bucket of bolts in his SOUL. there's no love like papyrus has so to speak."  

Despite his words, he examines the food he just handed you. When you raise an eyebrow, he _giggles_. "bp is a friend of mine, has been for years, even before mettaton owned the joint. he likes to slip some of those drugs of his into my food for shits and grins."  

"That's fucked up." 

"eh, not really. it's not like it can hurt me and if i wanted to, i could sober up in about a minute. made for some interesting work days back when i worked at the lab. alph even got in on it once. turns out that drugs didn't make working under my old man more tolerable for either of us." 

You snort as you take a bite. "I wonder how they impact humans... Don't look at me like that. When in Rome and whatnot?" 

"'when in rome'?" He's looking at you, clearly confused, and talking with his mouth full. Oh man. Looks like you have some explaining to do. 

 

* * *

 

You'd expected to finish eating and for him to go straight to the SOUL stuff. You were wrong. Of course you were wrong. The two of you talk for what feels like hours. Talking about Rome had led to ancient civilizations, which had led to how ancient technology had influenced the world, which had led to world history, so on and so forth. Sans had told you about the very brief monster history ("all of our records were lost when we were shoved under this damn mountain. some monsters remember more obviously, but still – we only have only have around five-hundred years of history now," he'd said, sadness in his voice) and how they'd taken fallen technology and turned it into something amazing. 

You're sitting up with him on the bed, leaning into him, drawing designs on his radius and ulna, talking about the universe when you feel his fingers on the center of your chest. You stop mid-sentence, saying something about black holes, as his fingers dance over your sternum.  

"something wrong?" He gives you a lazy languid smile that you try to return. The sense of dread –and the nausea in your throat- has been multiplied by about a thousand so you just shake your head. "good. so what about supermassive black holes now?"  

You swallow. His fingers start drawing on your chest, mimicking your motions on his arm. "Umm. I –uh, I don't remember what I was saying?"  

"did you _space out_ babe? s'ok, i know the feeling of being distracted by someone." You manage to stick your tongue out at him around the ball of tension. "can i...?" 

Sans flattens his palm against your chest when you nod your head. Except, when you feel the tell-tell feeling of magic circling around your SOUL, you pull away. You see the hurt in his eyes when you do. Why did your body move? That wasn't you. 

Sans leans away from you and you just know. If he gets up, you've lost him. Maybe not entirely, but you'll lose that trust that he has in you.  

"Wait!" He goes to roll away - "My SOUL has a crack in it!" 

Sans freezes and the buzzing inside of you vanishes. "It wasn't cracked last timeline, but when I woke up in the ruins it was. It has a giant black crack down the fucking center of it and you guys place so much importance in SOULs... I've been scared."  

Sans finally rolls to face you again. There's no hurt on his face now, only understanding. "I've wanted to tell you. Wanted to tell you. To show you. I just... Something's stopped me. Whenever I went to tell you or show you, I got this feeling inside of me that I shouldn't and I don't know why and-"  

"s'ok," Sans says, a breathy whisper. "are you ok? a cracked SOUL is serious." 

"I think so," you murmur back. The air feels so heavy now. It almost feels like Sans' gravity magic is against your chest. 

He reaches his hand towards your chest, but stops about three inches away. He closes his eyes, taking a deep breath before he pulls his hand away. What is he doing? 

"monsters usually pull their SOULs out at the same time. i'm good with SOULs, i could both of ours out at the same time. but i'm going to take a – what did you call it? a leap of faith." He pauses, his eyes darting over you as he moves to sit criss-cross in front of you on the large bed. "there's something i've been hiding, too. i'll show you." 

He's been hiding something too? You mirror his stance in front of him. He takes his left hand to his chest, looking just a fraction less afraid than he did when Chara appeared last timeline, his right hand finding one of your hands. 

"one rule – no touching." He gives crooked grin at the confusion on your face . "it would get distracting and i'd rather wait until i can play with yours too. err, if that's something you'd want." 

"think i get why you were so nervous now." He laughs. "welp, here goes nothing. i guess." 

 

 

Nothing happens. 

 

 

"you know what monster SOULs look like, right?" You almost laugh. Sans is the one stalling now.   

"Yeah. A white upside-down heart, right?" That's what the diagrams in Alphys' lab showed anyway.  

 "yeah," is all he says.   

He takes another deep breath and, after locking eyes with you, makes a tugging motion over his chest like you'd seen Alphys do to you countless times. Just like that, his SOUL is free.  

He's beautiful. His SOUL is the color of a white pearl, lit from the inside. What was he hiding? He's perfect. After a second, the color shifts and you see what he was so worried about. On his SOUL, what looks like red fractures, like tiny spider webs, appear on it. They're tiny, thin, random and encompass his entire SOUL.   

"What are they?" You mumble out, looking back in his eyes. Your fingers twitch with the desire to touch him. "You're beautiful, by the way."   

Sans' cheeks turn a light blue as he drops his SOUL back into his chest. "do you remember when you found me in the judgment hall?"  

"Yes." How could you forget? Running to get to him, praying that you'd get there before he died. That he'd have the strength to destroy Chara's SOUL.   

"do you remember how you found me?" He looks terrified now as you tell him that you do. "what was i doing?"  

"Sitting? Dying?" He shakes his head. "Bleeding?"  

"yeah, but why would i bleed? i'm a skeleton monster.  i have organs –different than yours, but i still have them- and such, but no blood."  

Why would he bleed? Why would you know? You don't know anything about monster anatomy, not really. You shrug your shoulders, still trying to think.  

"what else is red? think, really think about it."  

"Determin- Oh my god," you stop when he nods. Just like Grillby. "Gaster?"   

"yeah." He swallows.  "i dunno much about how, but the why? once i started working under him, he told me what a disappointment i was. after the sixth kid died he stopped being a good guy, but... well, no matter how hard i tried it wasn't enough. he wanted an extra set of hands and wouldn't you know it, that would be the way that i would cease to be useless."   

"i was an experiment again. how much could i take? how often? i said no at first, tried to say no, but i didn't have a choice." He runs his free hand across his skull. "until that, i was a normal monster. a clone, but still 'normal'.  the gravity magic, the ability to draw out my attack like a poison, my ability to work with SOULs - those are all me. gaster couldn't do those, they made me different. made me an individual. the blasters and the shortcutting... that's him. that's the determination."   

"I'm so sorry, Sans." You lean forward, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I don't have enough words to tell you how sorry I am."  

"so you aren't the only one with SOUL issues," he says. "me too, ----. me too."  

"Do it." His eyes which had been fuzzy and distant, snap to attention. "Pull mine out." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're interested, Saturday I posted the first chapter of the extras! Check out a Papyrus-centered one [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7235824/chapters/16426771)!


	53. You and I

"Do it," you repeat. He's staring now. It's funny – this moment has been coming for so long and now that it's here neither of you know what to do with yourselves.  
The light blue on his cheekbones becomes a dark indigo. "you sure?"

  
You make sure to look him in the eyes, squeezing the hand of his that you still have as you grab his free hand and bring it to your chest."Yes. Never been more sure."

  
He keeps his eyes on you as you feel his magic wrapping around your SOUL. Unlike Alphys, he takes his time. You shiver and his smile reappears – this feels so intimate, so wonderful. "sorry, shoulda warned you. intent means a lot with monsters. alphys only cares about the science aspect. i care about more. so much more."

  
When he pulls on your SOUL, it doesn't resist at all. In fact, you don't feel it leave for the first time. You only know it's out when the colors reflect on his face.

  
"oh." You bite your lip as he stares. He doesn't say anything for a full minute and you watch the orange in it shift to purple.

  
"oh, babe. _you're_ beautiful." His eyes flick up to yours for a second before going back down to your SOUL. "all the colors present in one SOUL, shifting based on mood... of course you'd be unique."

  
You'd been worried over nothing. You're blushing, squirming under his intense gaze. He doesn't think you're broken. He's enthralled with you the same way that you'd been enthralled in him.  
He watches you for another full minute and you let him. This is important to him. You've been dodging him for over a month on this – he can have this. His hand twitches towards your SOUL just like yours had for his.

  
“when we get home, can i look at your SOUL again?” He isn't looking at you - he's looking at your SOUL. Or, more specifically, the black crack in it. “i want to test something, but it can wait. i don't want you to think you're a science experiment with me too.”

  
“Way to make a girl feel special Sans. But yes, you can.”

  
His grin noticeably widens. “ready?"

  
"Thought you'd never ask. I thought you were just going to stare at me." You give him a smile, feeling shy again.

  
This is it. He lets go of your hand, which you regret for a full second before his hand is on his own chest, pulling his SOUL free. For a second, the two SOULs don't do anything. Were you not ‘comparable’ or whatever? Or was it because you were human? What does he think?

  
Wait.

 

Sans' SOUL is shifting. The red is still there, but it's no longer white. It still has the pearl-like sheen, but it's not white.

  
"holy shit."

  
He's cyan and yellow now, swirling like yours. The longer they're near each other, the brighter his gets. You can hear the feeling in your SOUL that you get around him and you know he can too.

  
"holy shit, he was right."

You barely hear him. You're staring at the two SOULs and hearing something you've never heard before – his SOUL answering yours. They're getting closer to each other and you want to know what happens if they touch and -

"fuck." Then they're gone, vanished back into their respective homes and you feel so alone, so empty, even though Sans is on you. "so perfect." He's everywhere, all over you, and you still feel empty.

  
Sans is peeling off your clothes, making short work of your shirt and pants, kissing and nipping down your neck. It's a welcome distraction for the emptiness you feel.

  
"can i have you?" His mouth finds your left breast and his hand your right as he shimmies you down on your back.

  
"Only if I can have you." When he practically yells 'yes', your hands catch up with his. Stripping, pulling, teasing. You can't get enough of him and he can't get enough of you. You wanted to take your time with him, to map out all of him, but before you know it he's inside of you.

  
He's tender, loving, taking his time. This is heaven. One of your hands is wrapped around his, the other around his back. You can feel how close you are, how close he is. Sans is watching you, not that you have room to talk. You're watching him too, drinking in the way bliss twitches on his face.

  
"Sans, I'm gonna -" You squeeze his hand.

  
"do it. wanna watch you come unglued." A few well aimed thrusts later and you're moaning, orgasm rushing over you like the tide. As your mind comes back to you (a process Sans slows with gentle thrusting as much as possible), you can feel the smugness radiating off of your boyfriend. You pry your eyes open to see Sans' magical eye staring at you.

  
"that was hot."  
You make as unattractive of a face as you can at him and he laughs, pausing his movements.

"It's rude to stare, you know."  
He just smirks, a rough thrust sending your eyes rolling back into your head. Maybe it wasn't rude. Maybe you just need to watch him lose himself to even the playing field. Fair's fair.

You shake your hand loose from his, wrapping it around him and around the back of his ribs. His smirk falls and he shudders.  
You smile (probably smugly, but you mean it to be sweet) up at him, determined to make his bones rattle. When he starts to shake above you a few minutes later, you know he's fighting it. So you arch into him, pressing your ribs to his, and watch the show.He freezes, moans, and you see why he thought watching you was hot.

  
When he's done, he collapses onto you, skull tucked under your chin. You feel the stupid grin on your face – you're blissed out, he's blissed out, and there's no reason to have to scramble a respectable distance away from each other for a few more hours. You feel yourself let out a whine when Sans' manifested dick vanishes.

  
You're startled out of a particularly wicked thought (if you yelled 'oh my god, I hear Paps', would he freak out?) when Sans grabs one of your hands again. He's such a sap and you feel your SOUL burst with love towards him.

Hmm... He may not have skin, but you wonder...

  
He jumps when your free hand gently scratches at his scapula before letting out a soft breath.  
"tha's nice." He sounds so relaxed, so at peace. When you move to his spine, he shivers. "no one's ever – jeeze, why does that feel so good? you're gonna spoil me, you know."

  
"Good. You deserve it." He doesn't say anything, just squeezes your hand. A few minutes later, your curiosity finally returns to you. "Sans?"

  
"hmm?" He sounds like he's almost asleep.

  
"I have a question for you." He doesn't say anything. "About our SOULs."

  
He sighs, pushing up with what seems like great effort, to look at you.

  
"Sans, why do I feel so empty now?" As soon as you finish asking, he rolls to the side of you, blushing again.

  
"you feel that too? i didn't know if you would..." Cheeks still blue, he gives you a shy smile. "i don't want to freak you out."

  
"Freak me out? Seriously?" You feel the 'less than impressed' look slip onto your face.

  
"it's probably a serious culture difference." His eyes scan you before a look of defeat crosses his face. "fine. we have a term for two monsters whose SOULs react the way ours do to each other."

  
"Which is what?"

  
"soulmates. i always thought it was total bullshit. someone who you're meant to be with? predestined nonsense. but here we are. your SOUL calls for mine and mine calls back." He's rambling, a habit he only has when he's nervous. "gaster drilled it into me that it was bullshit, you know? tori and asgore were said to be soulmates and look how that turned out"

  
"Sans."

  
"it doesn't have to change anything, if you don't want it to. we can still just be us. take our time with things. i know that for a human it must be -"

  
"Sans," you giggle out his name and press a kiss to his forehead, which stops his rambling mid-sentence. "I love you. We have that term too, although it's not as literal to us."

  
"you aren't freaking out,” he states. No, you're not. You should be. Everything about you says that you should be, but you're not.

  
"Believe it or not, I'm not a total commitment-phobe." He cocks a browbone at you. "Really. I'm not. I'm not going to freak out either. I don't necessarily want to run off together right this moment, but Grillby was right. We go together. Why waste any time fighting it?"

  
Sans seems to be frozen, the only sign that he's alive is his breathing for a full minute as he stares.

  
"Did I say something wrong?"  
He gives an exaggerated blink and head shake. "no. fuck, no. perfect." He leans in to kiss you and everything is perfect.

 

* * *

  
The rest of the afternoon is spent relaxing. Well, mostly. Sans may be a spectacularly lazy skeleton in a lot of ways, but you are the exception to that. You'd be talking about anything with him, his fingers would start to trace your hips, and before you knew it you'd have another skeleton inside of you (horrible pick up line provided by Sans, of course).

  
Now it's getting late and you both should probably be heading back to Snowdin.

  
"Bone boy," you say, laying on your stomach with Sans' fingers tracing your spine.

  
"hmm?"

  
"Papyrus and Frisk," you stop to let out a little moan as he finds a knot on your back. "Shouldn't we be getting back to them?"

  
"only if you really want to. may or may not have actually gotten them to agree to a sleepover without us."

  
"Frisk-"

  
"papy knows that they have nightmares and frisk was totally cool with me stealing you away for a night." He gives you a cheeky grin. "only one though. they made me promise to bring you home in the morning. so we can go home, crash in my bed together after a shitty mettaton movie, and snuggle up nice and close and have to be quiet or stay here in this stupidly huge bed and not have to be quiet. or put clothes back on."

  
"frisk promised to call if they needed you though." It's like he can read your mind sometimes.

  
"Here."

  
“thought so.” He's smug again, fingers working the knot out before he dips lower. Is he mapping out your skeleton?

  
“You could always look at my SOUL again now, you know.” Behind you, Sans makes a strangled noise as he presses his hand into your lower back. Yep, he's feeling up your bones.

  
“you have no idea what you just said to me, do you?”

  
“You said you wanted to play mad scientist on it.”

  
“then no, you don't. babe, saying shit like that when we’re like this is how we end up bonded or with a baby bones on the way. well, potentially. i don't know if we could have a little monster with the whole ‘cross-species’ thing going on or not, but–“

  
You feel your face go cherry red. Whoops. “We could. Well, maybe.”

  
Sans goes silent and stills.

  
“I'm not saying that I want kids right now, but I think it would be. Grillby had kids with his wife and…” You trail off. Yet again, you've stumbled onto some awkwardly deep conversation with him.

  
“grillby had kids?” Sans keeps his voice low, ministrations on your lower back resuming. "he never mentioned them before."

  
"I think it's easier for him to talk about Joan than them. When she was killed, she was pregnant with their second. I don't know how old Aedus was when, well..."

  
"tha's horrible. poor grillbz. no wonder he doesn't talk about his past." Sans sighs, fingers sliding back up your spine to your neck. "can i ask you something?"

  
"Shoot."

  
"did you make the same deal with undyne this time?"

  
This time it's your turn to sigh. Of course he'd want to know that. "Yes. I don't want to Sans, but I had to get her to let me over there. I don't want to die, but I will."

  
Sans growls next to you. "no, you won't. if that happens, frisk will load."

  
"No, they won't." You roll to face Sans and are greeted to the sight of his lightless sockets. You don't even flinch.

"Sans, it's been too long. This has been happening for too long. If you make Frisk load, I'll never forgive you. Everyone deserves freedom."

  
"but-"

  
"If I have to die for that, than so be it. Sans, I love you. Love you, Papyrus, Grillby, Alphys, Undyne, MK, Tori... Hell, I think I even kind of like Mettaton. You all deserve to see the world."

  
Sans watches you (well, you think watches you) for another few seconds before the lights of his eyes reappear. "i'm not gonna let that happen. not gonna fight with you about it either – i don't need to be looking at your SOUL to see how red it probably is right now." He leans forward, pressing a kiss to the tip of your nose.

  
"now how about some overpriced room service before bed? 'm nothing but bones and you're starting to look like me, but i really don't want to put pants on."

  
"Sounds wonderful."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My internet was down all day. Whoops.
> 
> Uploaded on mobile as well - if formatting is wonky, I'll fix it in the morning :)


	54. What Happens Now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there was a chapter last night if you missed it! An important one :)

Morning comes way too quickly. Your entire body is sore in the best way possible, aches and pains reminding you that yesterday was real before you even open your eyes. As if you could forget with the magical being that's wrapped around you.  

Soulmates. A concept that should terrify you, but doesn't. He's _yours._ Your SOUL and his were made for each other. So what that mean for now?  He'd mentioned bonding (which you really should get a monster biology lesson from him soon apparently), but didn't seem to keen on the idea. 

Stop ----, you're overthinking this. For once, just _enjoy_.

You yawn and Sans snuggles himself closer. 

"'morning. i could get used to this." You giggle and squirm as his hand skims up your side, tickling you lightly. "certainly like the lack of clothes here." 

"Me too."  You lean a little more into him, just wanting to go back to sleep. 

"so the SOUL thing is out of the way. talking to frisk is next, right?" 

"What?"  Your brain isn't really awake yet. 

"um, i thought that... never mind." 

Oh, shit. Moving in with him. "Oh, yeah. Frisk is next. Sorry, not fully awake yet." 

"as much as i'd love to stay in bed here all day, i did promise to return you to the kid." Sans give you a gentle poke in the side. "so up." 

"Is the world ending? The universe imploding? In what universe does Sans the skeleton try and get someone up and out of bed?"  

Sans, who had been looking lost, snorts out a laugh. "in the one where i want to look at that SOUL of yours in my workshop before you have to see alph." 

"No Alphys today. Have the day off again." 

You roll out of the giant bed, but not before looking at the time. Eight in the morning? Seriously? "bag in the chair has clean clothes in it." 

"Thanks. Do I have time to take a shower?" 

"only if i can come with." 

 

* * *

 

Sans was incredibly smug today. You'd never seen him so proud of himself as he'd looked when he'd found out that he was the reason that you were walking funny in the room (after making sure that you were actually alright, of course). When he'd seen the bruises on your hips in the shower, you thought he might die of self-satisfaction.  

It's really unfair that you can't return the favor on him.  

You're getting dressed and texting Papyrus (and Frisk probably) when Sans goes serious all of a sudden. 

"do you mind if i look at your SOUL? i just kind of assumed this morning and i -" 

"You know what assume usually means right? I told you last night that it was fine," you say without looking up from your phone. "I don't mind. Really." Whatever feeling that had been stopping him from showing him is just gone. You're really worried about that, but there isn't really anything you can do about it either.  

**You: Hey** **Paps** **we're coming back to** **Snowdin** **, but Sans has a science** **experi** **ment** **he wants to try before he releases me from his clutches. Is that okay?**  

"what does assume mean?" 

"It makes an ass of you and me." Sans chuckles and you really look at him. He looks even happier than he did yesterday. "I have a question about last night though." 

"shoot," he says, mimicking you.  

**Papy** **: No problem! Frisk and I are about to recalibrate our puzzles! Hope you two had a good night. WINK.**  

**Papy** **: Sis, it's me! It's fine, I'm fine! No nightmares AND we had pancakes for breakfast! I ate seven!**  

Oh boy.  

"Oh god, they had all you can eat pancakes for breakfast from the sound of it. Frisk is going to be miserable in about an hour... Um, anyway. Where do we stand now?" 

"whaddya mean?" Sans grabs the bag, chuckling as he wraps an arm around your waist. You don't answer right away – you may be comfortable in the void, but cutting through it still felt odd. It used to feel like missing a step on the stairs to you, but now it feels like that first drop on a rollercoaster. You know it's there, you know it's happening, but there really isn't any preparing for it. There's still the sensation of drowning, but you're at least used to that now. 

Sans, knowing you, pulls you through the void and into his basement workshop.  

"I mean we're soulmates or whatever right? What do monsters usually do after they find out they're soulmates?" 

Sans' cheekbones go a light blue color again as he shoves both his hands in his pockets. You'll never tell him this, but he's so cute when he's flustered. "eh, there hasn't been a recorded case of actual soulmates in years. since the surface actually. but after two monsters find out that they're good together, they usually start planning to bond. figure out how to make themselves a family." 

You feel your cheeks go pink too. "I guess we're already working on that, huh?" 

"yeah." Sans is watching you again, looking for some sort of reaction from you other than acceptance. He's not going to find it. "look, i'm not gonna rush you anymore. i saw your SOUL and that's enough for me right now. i know we belong together. you don't since you've never been taught what a big deal this is, but... 'm yours." 

Your SOUL (and the butterflies that have magically reappeared in your belly) gives a pleasant twist. "I'm yours too, Sans. I don't know anything about SOULs other than what I've been told about, but I know that I'm yours. So what now?" 

Sans closes the space between the two of you, the pinpricks of his eyes sharp, clear, and bouncing all over you as his hands find yours. "you say the sweetest things, you know that? you may not be a monster like me, but somehow you say all the right things. now, we start a life together. i can't bond with you though. not yet." 

He presses his forehead against yours and you feel the love pouring off of him to you. It's overwhelming and not enough all at once. "if we bond and you die, i'd...god, i don't know if i'd be able to pull through. it's biological for us. i don't know how grillbz or any of the others held on. i need to be able to be there for papyrus and frisk if you..." 

"it's funny. i told you that monsters know everything once they see a SOUL right? after last night, telling you 'i love you' isn't enough to tell you how i feel about you. but i do. i love you." 

You don't have time to answer before he's kissing you, soft and sweet, and you're a mess of a human again.  

"Love you too," you manage to say when he pulls away to let you breathe. "Should probably get a monster biology lesson soon. I don't know how any of this works."  

"later, i promise." There's a wicked glint in his eyes for a second before he goes back to looking at you tenderly. Whatever Sans plan is, it looks like it might be fun. "first things first, i need to check my theory on that crack." 

"What's your theory? I might be able to tell you if Alphys had it and tested it – SANS!" You can't stop laughter that comes as he picks you up. "How the hell...?"  

"magic," Sans purrs, carrying you to the counter. 

"Skeleton monsters are weird." Sometimes you try to figure out how Sans and Papyrus work. Like now. How could a monster that was just bone and magic pick you up and carry you? How did that work? Magic may be the answer, but logically? HOW? 

"humans are weird." That's a fair counter argument, you guess. "alphys wouldn't know anything about my hypothesis. i'm going to need to physically touch your SOUL though. is that ok? i'll try to keep my feelings out of it." 

"Um, sure? I feel like I'm missing something, but sure. I trust you."  

"remember what i said about intent? well, touching someone's SOUL is incredibly intimate. no matter what i'll probably get flashes of your past or your feelings, but i might be able to keep it mostly scientific..." Sans gulps as his left hand finds your sternum again. "is that still-" 

"Yes." You shiver from the anticipation. This was supposed to be scientific, not erotic. Get yourself together. You take a deep breath before nodding your head. "Do it."  

There's the pleasant feeling of his magic searching for your SOUL again. It seems more 'business like', which was probably due to Sans' intent being more scientific today, but it's still warm and welcoming.  

"you're making this hard," he says under his breath. Good. You're not sorry in the least. 

Again, you don't feel your SOUL being pulled out by him. The colors are much more even today and you hear Sans' low gasp. He stops, staring at the twisting colors for a full minute. 

"Sans?" 

"huh? shit, sorry. you're just distracting." He shoots you a guilty grin as he brings his left hand to the side of your SOUL. "'k. ready?" You nod and- 

Holy fuck. It’s amazing. You don't know what he's seeing (you feel a small blip of nervousness at that), but what you're feeling is all consuming. You're on fire, all of you is tingling, calling for him and – it's over.

"fuck," Sans gulps. When he drops his hand, you remember the world. Sans is staring, his one colorful iris meeting both of yours. So much for just being scientific.

"Holding back huh?" You're panting.  

"apparently not. fuck. gimmie a minute." Sans leans forward and into your chest. "you showed me a sunrise on the beach. i could feel how much you love me and you showed me a sunrise." 

"I didn't know I did anything." You hadn't consciously done anything. You'd just felt everything. 

"really? huh." Sans takes a deep breath, pulling back finally. His white pinpricks are back. "ok so I have to do it again. just one more time."  

"That's fine." 

Sans looks so determined and nervous when he meets your eyes. He doesn't drop your gaze as he reaches for your SOUL again and - 

Nothing. You don't feel anything. You break eye contact to look down and – yep, he's touching you. His index finger is on the black crack of your SOUL. Nothing. 

"I don't feel anything this time."  

Sans drops his finger and when you look up, he's looking as serious as you've ever seen him.  

"this wasn't here last timeline, right?"  

"Right. Sans what's -" 

"you died before frisk loaded, right?" 

"Right again. Sans -" 

"are you sure you died? it's important." 

You bite your lip and think. "Yes. Chara stabbed me in the heart. My SOUL tried to protect me, but it couldn't. I only remember black and the sound of wind before I woke up again in the ruins. Sans, what is it?" 

"welp, i've got some good news and bad news. the good is that your SOUL's crack isn't that bad. the black is larger that the actual crack in it." He's looking both at you and through you.  

"The bad?" 

"that's not a normal crack. i thought i felt something last night, but i wasn't sure. that's void magic. i don't know how or why, but when you reset with this world, the void joined with your SOUL." 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout-out to Goozer and anyone else who guessed that it's void in Reader's SOUL.


	55. Maple Syrup

The void? There's actual void in your SOUL?

You gulp. "Are you sure?"

"yep. now that i know you, i can hear the void clearly. it's separate."

"Is it dangerous?" You need to know.

"i don't know. i'm sorry, but i don't know." He offers you a reassuring smile as he gently pushes your SOUL back into chest. "doesn't seem to be though."

You lean forward onto Sans, resting your chin on his shoulder. It's not a crack – well, it is, but not like you'd thought. It's –you jump, Sans wrapping you in his arms startling you- scary in a different way now. Sans had no idea about how this worked. If he didn't know, no one would.

"you ok?"

"I will be," you say and mean it.

"need a minute?" You nod before you snuggle into Sans' neck. It's weird how comfortable Sans can be, even when he isn't cushioning himself for you. Or maybe you're just used to him now.

"I'm good now. Ready to go check on Frisk and Paps?" You pull yourself up.

"in a sec," he presses a kiss to your lips. "first let me check on the house."

 

* * *

 

The house was in one piece at least. The kitchen was still sort of sticky, but at least it was mostly clean. After a once over ("thank god - i came home one timeline when frisk and undyne stayed the night to the place on fire. i couldn't make fire-related puns for ages."), he wraps an arm around you and pulls you through the void and to his sentry station in the woods.

He wraps his bony hand around yours and together the two of you go to search for Frisk and Papyrus. It doesn’t take long – you hear them before you see them- and Sans gives you a playful grin.

"wanna have some fun?"

"Already had tons, but sure." You could use the fun.

"how much have you had?" There's a playful glint in his eyes again and you know that he's trying to distract you from thinking about your SOUL. You're thankful – it's working.

"A ton?"

"don't you mean a _skele-ton_?"

"There's the punning. I was wondering if I'd lost my Sans at some point."

"awe, babe, you thought i was gone? that's _cold_." You roll your eyes as he picks up some snow, rolling it into a ball. "come on, let's make some snowballs."

"Aren't we going to-"

"let them know we're here? nah, not yet." His grin is devious. "my entire house smells like syrup. favor or not, it's gonna take ages to air that out. plus, i'm gonna make a pile for them. i just want the first shot. before we do, you might wanna make sure that you can walk normal though."

You stick out your tongue at the rude skeleton.

 

* * *

 

Ten minutes later, the first blue out-lined snowball smacks Papyrus in the back of the skull. Half a second later, the second one pelts Frisk in the butt.

War begins.

 

* * *

 

Frisk and you are both shivering an hour later, smiling and ,well, chilled to the bone from the snow as you head back to the Inn. You both need a warm shower and dry clothes. Sans isn't happy about being separated from you even if you'd just spent an entire day and night with him. Papyrus is in good spirits, excited to help you with Frisk's "schooling" in a few minutes.

You shoot Frisk into the shower first, but make them keep the door open for warmth for you. They shower quickly (thank god, the kid can hog some hot water and you're freezing) and then it's your turn. You only rinse off since you'd showered this morning (you spend a good minute blushing that the memory of Sans helping you clean up) before you jump out and throw on dry clothes.

Frisk is waiting on the bed for you, fiddling with the edge of one of the books that Papyrus had loaned them.

" _Sis? Can I talk to you for a second?_ "

"Sure thing Frisk. What's up?"

" _I talked to Mom this morning._ "

You automatically know that they're talking about if they're going to stay with you or Tori. "Really, already?"

" _It's been about three months so..._ " Frisk shrugs, biting their lip. " _I want to stay with you._ "

You're surprised to say the least. "Really? Not that I'm upset about that. I'm glad. I'm surprised though. I thought you'd want to stay with Tori though." Frisk stares at you and you smile. "I want you here with me kiddo. Told you I loved you."

Slowly, a smile forms on their face. " _Really?_ "

"Really. So what made you decided to stay? I know it was hard to choose."

" _You're doing everything you can to free everyone. I want to help and I can't do that stuck in the ruins with Mom._ "

You grin at Frisk. Of course they want to help. Them and that bleeding heart of theirs. "Ready to go learn some things kid?"

" _I guess_ ," Frisk says while grimacing. " _\----, I love you too._ "

You can't stop the smile that forms as Frisk takes your hand.

*****************

Sans watches the three of you work at the table, love bursting in him. All of him. God, he's dopey happy right now. His SOUL is energized, reaching for yours. He knows you feel the aftereffects too, your body language alone tells him that, but not like he is.

"SANS."

You'd said yesterday that you'd felt empty too, but your SOUL can't reach like his can. He can feel himself reaching for you, unable to grab on since you don't posses any magic of your own. Not for the first time, and probably not for the last, he's jealous of Grillby.

"SANS."

God, and touching you. He's worried about the void in your SOUL yes, but even then. If he had thought seeing his SOUL react to yours had been too much... Touching all you are has changed him for good.

"SANS!"

"huh? 'sup?" He fights back a blush – you, Frisk, and Papyrus are staring at him while he'd been lost in thought.

"SANS, CAN YOU GO TO THE STORE IN NEW HOME? WE WANT TO MAKE COOKIES!"

"sure thing paps. gimmie a list and i'll go." Instead of Paps, he watches you write something out. You press the list over to him and he grins and taps the side of his mouth. "sugar, huh? i got some of that for you right here."

He can't contain his laughter as you bury your face in your hands, Papyrus shakes his head, and Frisk -

" _Ew, you're gross._ "

"your face is gross." He winks at Frisk and they smile at him.

"SANS! BE NICE!"

"'m always nice." His grin widens. "so is there a way to squeeze some ketchup into these things or...?"

"Ew, no." You pull your head up and make a face. "That sounds horrible. Worse than horrible actually. That sounds like a literal monstrosity"

It takes him a full minute to stop laughing at your accidental joke. "i think it sounds scrumptious."

"SANS, GO." He chuckles and gives a mock solute before he pulls himself into the void. Being this far away from you already stinks. He wants to go back and drag you with him – and he's in New Home, outside of the store.

The list is short, although you had written down multiple bags of things, why did you need that much of anything? His eyes skim to the bottom and his SOUL twists at the small note -

For the Blasters.

You are the sweetest thing. He goes into the store, a skeleton on a mission. This won't take long. He quickly makes his way towards the small section of dried goods where Alphys is waiting. So maybe this won't be a short trip.

"heya alph. this isn't the ramen isle." She jumps, spinning to him, scales red.

"I k-know that. Hi S-Sans." Awkwardness hits him. He's spent ages avoiding her, now he's talking to her twice in a week? He's picking at old wounds now.

"thanks for the room," he says, trying to be the chill skeleton that he usually is. Was this rude?

"A-any time! I m-meant to t-tell you the other d-day. You l-look good Sans. H-happy." Alphys gives him that shy smile of hers and he feels an edge of bitterness fade away. They'd been friends at one point.

"i am." For her, he lets that stupid practice grin slip into a real smile. Just like that, her blush fades and it's them again. Alphys and Sans, the poor suckers that interned under W.D Gaster.

"G-god Sans, I w-was so worried about you! You j-just left! N-not a word, just a note! I thought that you'd... I d-didn't know that you were a-alive until Undyne told me t-that she'd hired you!" His smile falls. For her, it'd only been a few months. He'd just resigned, dropped off the face of the world. "I g-get why, I do. Just..."

"i'm sorry alphys. i just couldn't be there anymore. i didn't have a choice in working under him and whatever happened to him happened... alph, i'm free. if you knew what he did to me..." He shudders. He doesn't think about this usually. "i should have at least let you know i was alive. sent you a text, an email, or even a fucking smoke signal."

He doesn't think about the determination experiments on him. He doesn't think about them and he DAMN SURE doesn't talk about them. Alphys had never known about the return trips to the lab or about the extra early days when Gaster would yank Sans' SOUL free and inject it with DT.

Stop Sans. Not in front of Alphys. She didn't need to know that this had happened under her nose. She'd blame herself.

"N-no, I'm s-sorry. I s-shouldn't have brought it up." She bites at her lip, hands clasping together.

"how have you been?" Sans changes the subject, using his magic to pull down the ingredients you'd needed. "hear that you and undyne are getting closer."

Alphys goes red again. "I g-guess." She turns like she's going back to shopping, but Sans knows her. They worked together, he knows her almost as well as he knows you. "C-can I ask-"

"alph, you know you can."

"How d-did you and ---- g-get together? I'm sorry I know it's none of my business and -" Sans laughs, he can't help himself. He has to tell a lie.

"alph, i'm gonna tell you something that i haven't even told my brother yet and you aren't allowed to poke at ---- like a science experiment because of it, ok?" She nods, looking back over at him. "i was just drawn to her and... alph, she's it. she's my soulmate. her SOUL calls to mine and mine calls back. despite all the differences, she's it."

"A soulmate. Sans that's big. L-like really big!" Alphys stares for a second, a giant grin overcoming her face. "I'm so happy for you Sans! Are you two going to...?"

"not yet. i need to know she's going to be safe." Alphys' face falls.

"It's so h-hard. I never thought being the Royal Scientist would be so hard. We're making some progress, I think, but I'll n-never be able to... I don't think Undyne will either."

"heh, she's headstrong enough to strut straight up to asgore herself." He shakes his head. This isn't why he brought this up. "you should talk to undyne. maybe it's leftover SOUL sharing over-romantic nonsense, but you should."

"S-Sans, if y-you knew what I've done-"

He shrugs his shoulders. "if she loves you, or hell, even likes you it won't matter. ---- and Frisk have talked to her, you know."

Alphys freezes in place, reaching for some flour. "she's at least interested, alph."

"S-she is?"

He nods. "want to come to dinner and talk?"

"P-please."

 

* * *

 

Dinner was a hit. Everyone was gone for the night, he had fresh cookies to take to the Blasters later, now he was just reading on the couch with his brother for the night. For the first time in his life, everything was perfect.

He feels Papyrus watching him, which just makes him smile. He's not going to volunteer the information – what kind of brother would he be if he didn't tease Paps a bit?

"SO..."

"so?"

"SANS."

"in the flesh. well, sorta." He grins wider at the strangled sound of annoyance that Papyrus makes.

"SANS! THEY'RE MY FAMILY TOO, YOU KNOW!" Papyrus huffs at him for added affect.

It works. Family.

"it went amazing. paps, i've never felt anything like it. you were right."

"I USUALLY AM! But... about what?"

"she's my soulmate paps."

"NYEH HEH! I told you!"

"i asked them to move in with us. you're still cool with that, right?"

"OF COURSE! THIS IS GOING TO BE AMAZING! I CAN'T WAIT," Papyrus pauses. "They said yes, right?"

"not yet. ----'s going to make sure it's ok with frisk first." Sans sighs contently before poking Papyrus with his foot. "paps, i hope you find someone like ----. bro, it's the best."

"Me too, Sans. Now! On to more important matters for the time being! Should we get another bed for Frisk in my room or bunk beds? And you'll need a bigger one as well..."

Papyrus goes on, planning changes to their home, and Sans feels even more love stirring in his SOUL.

 

This is what happiness feels like, isn't it?

 

He dares to like it.

 

Even more dangerously, he dares to hope for more. 


	56. Exercise = Eggs Are Sides

The next morning, you wake up kind of disoriented. What the hell is going on? You're dizzy, confused, and -

" _Sis, what's wrong?_ " Frisk's voice is a whisper in your head. " _You were rolling around – did you have a nightmare?_ "

You're breathing heavy, shaking, and your heart's racing. "I guess so."

" _You guess?_ "

"Don't remember. Haven't been able to remember a dream in...I don't even know how long." When you say it out loud, it worries you. When was the last time you'd remembered a dream? Was this normal? You'd been chalking it up to some sort of PTSD, but... was it?

" _That might be a good thing. It looks like it was a bad one_ ," Frisk gently puts one of their small hands on your leg. " _So what are we doing today?_ "

"I think... training with Undyne and then Alphys? You can stay with Paps if you want. Or see if he wants to come with us."

" _Really?_ " Frisk's excitement is obvious in their voice.

"Really. No more secrets from me. Just make sure it's alright with Undyne before you invite Paps."

Frisk grins and scampers for your phone. Even though it's been less than a week since they've loaded, it's hard to remember that they were essentially a puppet for three years. That they can still control time to an extent. They were a powerful ally to have for sure.

Frisk is quick with your phone, tapping on the screen. They wait and there's a chime. Followed immediately by two more that cause Frisk to start giggling. " _Undyne says the more the merrier! Well, mostly_." They toss you your phone and -

**Capt. Sharky: BRING IT! I CAN TRAIN YOU ALL AT ONCE AND IT WILL BE FUCKING AWESOME!**

**Capt. Sharky: Wait. Frisk! Delete that first one. And this one.**

**Capt. Sharky: BRING IT PUNKS! I CAN HANDLE ALL OF YOU AT ONCE!**

You can't control the laughter that bubbles out of you. Oh, Undyne.

"Text Papyrus and just promise me that you'll wait until you're a few years older before you start talking like Undyne." Frisk gives you a reproachful look. "Or me. I don't want to imagine the tail chewing that Tori would give me if you start swearing like me."

At the mention of Tori, guilt flashes across Frisk's face for a second. You almost miss it, but you recognize the expression. Until the other day, you'd made that face everytime you were near Sans.

"Everything okay Frisk?" They don't say anything and you toss your phone back to them. "When you want to talk, I'm here. So, text Paps and put some shoes on!"

 

* * *

 

Papyrus had responded in less than thirty seconds from receiving Frisk's text. If Frisk had been excited to invite him then Papyrus was three times as excited to be invited. Of course, since it was Papyrus, hitching a ride with the Riverperson was too easy. Never mind that you're on your way to get your ass kicked by Undyne, now you're not going to be riding there.

You're going to be running there. Because of course you are, it's _Papyrus_. You bolt through Snowdin, minus your jacket, since you'll be in Waterfall and Hotland most of the day. Cold, cold, cold! Papyrus is ahead of you, Frisk safe on his shoulders.

Once in Waterfall, you're instantly warmer. The chill quickly leaves you, replaced by the humidity of the small marsh. The smell of the swampy stale air makes your nose wrinkle.

"ARE YOU TWO READY?" Papyrus is loud, his voice echoing in the smaller cave, as he drops Frisk to the ground.

" _YES!_ " Frisk, despite your repeated begging to watch their voice around Papyrus, is automatically as loud as he is in your head. You grumble out a something like a yes as you glare at Frisk.

"WELL, LET US START BY POWER WALKING! WARMING UP IS IMPORTANT SO WE DON'T HURT OUR BONES!"

Here goes nothing. Of course, after only a few feet, Sans is snoozing at his station. Papyrus narrows his sockets at you and you just smile. You can't not say hi at least.

"FINE. IF YOU AREN'T AT UNDYNE'S WITHIN TEN MINUTES OF US, THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES." He may be glaring, but you recognize the teasing tone.

"Sure thing Paps," you say, walking up to the still sleeping Sans and pressing a kiss to his forehead.

"who the hell – oh, hey." Sans snaps to, irritation gone as soon as he sees you. "i'm working myself down to the bone for us and you wake me up?"

"No you're not. You're just napping since you know Undyne won't bother you if I'm over there."

"fine, fine. you caught me in a _fibula_." He sits up, bones popping as he stretches. "my brother joining you today?"

"Yeah. I mean, if you don't mind. Shit, is that a problem? I didn't even think about it -"

"it's fine. he's my brother and he's happy for us. it's platonic and all that jazz. as long as he or anyone else doesn't stare or physically touch you, i don't care. that would be too much. mind if I stop by when i'm done?"

"Done what? Snoozing?"

"with my shift, duh." He winks at you. "if you're waiting for me to be done snoozing you'll be waiting a long time."

"No shit, I'd probably look like you by then." Sans sticks out his tongue and you blow a raspberry back at him. No more secrets feels good. "Well I should go before Undyne hops on the punishment wagon with Papyrus. See ya later?"

" _punishment_? i'm the only one that can do those well although snowdrake isn't bad..." What did he mean? Oh, goddammit Sans. That was awful. "see ya at alphys."

You turn away and feel a smack on your butt. "Seriously Sans?"

Sans grin just stays cheeky as he wave you off.

 

* * *

 

You're jogging through the marsh, the wet heat making it hard to run through, although... honestly, you welcome the few moments alone. Between all of your friends, being all alone in the underground is a rarity for you. You're almost to that yellow bird monster that likes to fly the gap when you aren't alone anymore.

You feel that you aren't alone anymore and – you trip. Fuck, you'd been doing so good with not being clumsy! Then the warmth on your chest kicks in.

Shit.

"What. Did. You. DO?" It takes a second to place the angry voice, but when you do you're filled with dread.

Flowey. It's been months since you've seen him.

As soon as you spin around, the vine that Flowey tripped you with vanishes into the ground.

He looks sad, his normal smiling face curved into a frown, yellow petals sagging slightly.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." You go to run when the vine reemerges, wrapping around your ankle.

"Don't worry, human. I just want to talk. For now." His petals and face snap back to normal. Or what you assume is normal. "There's far too many monsters that like you nearby for me to fight you. Especially that smiley trashbag. I don't feel like dying today." 

His plastered on expression nearly crumbles for a second. "So, what did you and trashbag do to Chara? Why aren't they back? They always come back."

"Why do you care Flowey? They killed you! I'm sure they've killed you before!"

"They're my best friend! The only one that gets me! They -"

"If they're your best friend then you're fucked." The vine around your ankle tightens at your sass. Flowey's face contorts, rage all over it, bullets appearing around him – before the vine loosens and the bullets vanish, his smile back in place.

"Shut up! Now answer me – what did you do?"

"We killed them, Flowey." The vine tightens around your ankle again. "We killed Chara. We found their SOUL and destroyed it. Or at least whatever was tying Chara's memory to it."

"NO!" Rage hits his face again before it melts away into something childlike and sad. "No... They can't be... You'll pay for that human! Pay for it!"

The vine around your ankle loosens and goes back into the ground. "Watch your back, human. I'll kill you, but not here. I'll kill you in a way that will force a reset and if you're back, I'll kill you again. Again and again and again. I'll destroy you, the trashbag, and Frisk... Eventually, Chara will come back!"

Just like that, he's gone.

You stand outside of Undyne's house for a full five minutes once you get there before the shaking slows enough to be able to pass off.

 

* * *

 

" _Grillby texted you. He wants to know if you're alright for some reason_." Frisk manages to tell you after Undyne and Papyrus tell you off for 'canoodling' with Sans for so long. You don't correct them.

"Weird," you say, lying to Frisk as you take your phone. Undyne and Paps are setting up so you have a minute or two to respond. You quickly tell Grillby that you're fine now, but ask if you can talk later. After that, you switch over to Sans' message stream. You don't even laugh at the stupid thing he'd changed his name to. What can you say that won't send him flying off the deep end?

**You: Sans – first off, I'm fine.**

**You: Can we spend the night?**

**Punmaster: you 2 can spend EVERY night. what's wrong**

**You: Tell you at grillby's later?**

**Punmaster: i get off in three hours. let me know if you need me sooner.**

"Oi! Ready kid?" Undyne is eyeing Frisk for a change.

"----! YOU'LL BE WORKING WITH ME FOR A BIT!"

Oh thank god, a break. When Papyrus goes to pull your SOUL out, just like with Sans, you don't feel it being pulled out. His magic feels like Sans', yet it's clearly not Sans' magic. You shiver – it's strange, but not unpleasant.

Either Undyne or Sans must have told him about the crack since he doesn't say anything. His sockets go big for a second as he looks at you, but he quickly snaps out of it.

"LET'S SEE HOW MUCH YOU'VE LEARNED!"

From watching Frisk with Papyrus, you know he's quick. Until now, you've never known just how quick. His fighting style is so him – quirky and unique. He holds back with Frisk (you hope Frisk is too preoccupied with Undyne to notice) - he isn't putting much 'umph' behind his attacks, but he's fast which more than makes up for it.

"Err ----? Please don't be insulted, but I don't want to use my special attack on you! I don't want to hurt your SOUL any more than it already is."

"Paps, it's fine. Really. I can take it!" You tense up, ready for the gravity magic. You remember the feeling so when your SOUL reenters your body, you're surprised.

"I could never forgive myself if I hurt you." He steps closer as you turn your attention to Undyne and Frisk. Man, Frisk is quick! How could they still keep up with her? "Especially seeing as how you're Sans' future bondmate."

You freeze and he gives you a wicked grin that reminds you of Sans' own. You feel your face heating up. "Err...I guess. You're a good wingman, Paps."

"So, I need to talk to you about what you think Frisk would prefer in our room. Bunkbeds or another separate bed?"

 

* * *

 

You and Frisk both are beyond done when Undyne and Papyrus finish with you. Your entire body was shaking when Undyne announced that she would see you both for training the day after tomorrow. Papyrus was now going to join you both as much as he could from here on out.

The two of you basically limp toward Alphys' lab, both of you talking about how good the poptato chisps were going to taste. Once your racing heart calms down, you remember that you want to talk to Frisk about moving in with the brothers.

How do you even start that conversation?

"Hey Frisk, mind if we stop for some water up here?" Are you really doing this now?

" _Sounds good._ "

Yep, you're doing this here. You're at the water fountain way before you're ready. How do you even DO this?

"So." You bite your lip, thinking. Frisk gives you a look that you know they've learned from you – arms crossed, lips pursed, and both eyebrows raised. "How do you feel about moving out of the Inn?"

" _No._ " That was direct. " _I don't want to leave Snowdin! I like it there! I'm happy where we are!_ "

"Frisk, we wouldn't be leaving Snowdin. Sans and Papyrus want us to move in with them. Apparently they've wanted us there for a while."

The scowl on Frisk's face vanishes in a heartbeat. " _Both of us? Really?_ "

"Yes, both of us. We're family, kid."

" _I don't think there's room for me in that family_ ," Frisk says with a heavy sadness. " _Not after what I've done. Papyrus may not know, but I do. You do. Sans does._ "

Poor Frisk. "Frisk, there's room for you. Sans wants you there, I want you there, and Papyrus! Papyrus is trying to figure out if you want your own separate bed or if you want top bunk already." You smile over at Frisk.

" _He is? He's thinking about getting rid of the racecar bed?_ " Frisk bites their lip. " _Ok then. That... That sounds nice._ "

"Do you want to?" You ask again, just to make sure. "If you don't then it's totally fine."

" _No, I want to._ " Frisk gives you a giant smile that melts your SOUL. " _I never had a choice before. Never had anyone want me to be apart of their family_."

You don't say anything as you pull Frisk into a hug. Frisk fights you a bit, but only for a second before they lean into you. You only stay like that for a minute before you grab Frisk's hand and start walking again. They aren't big on long shows of affection (at least, not from you) so you just squeeze their hand.

When you walk into Alphys' lab, Alphys and Sans are both waiting for you.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pre-Spawn I was a gym rat. Not running - fuck running. 
> 
> But Exercise...exercise...eggs are sides...FOR BACON!


	57. In the Fog

Had it really been three hours since you'd seen Sans? You glance at the time – two and a half hours. Typical Sans. When you and Frisk walk in, he smiles once he sees that you're in one piece. He'd been worried.

"man, it looks like undyne _krilled_ you both." Alphys giggles as you and Frisk groan. Of course Alphys would like fish puns.

" _Can I change my answer?_ "

"I gotta admit, I'm wondering the same thing."

"what? don't like my fish puns? need more time to _mullet_ over?" Sans winks at you.

"Nope. That's it. Decision changed. Frisk, we're staying at the Inn forever."

Sans freezes and Alphys shrieks. "wait, decision changed? you mean that... you two are..."

" _\---- asked and I want to stay with you and Paps too. If that's alright?"_ Nervousness radiates off Frisk next to you.

"yes," Sans gulps before a smile lights up his face. "yes! does papyrus know?"

"Not yet, I just asked." You playfully ruffle Frisk's hair to distract yourself from the two scientists' attention. From the corner of your eye, you can see that Alphys looks like she has stars in her eyes and is lightly jumping next to Sans. Sans has barely moved.

" _\----, I think I broke Sans._ "

That seems to snap Sans back to reality from wherever it is that he went. He shakes his head and starts to turn a light blue – aw, he's embarrassed that Alphys saw this.

"So what are we doing today Alphys?" You should probably actually get some 'work' done today. By 'work' you mean let Alphys run you through whatever plans she has for the day.

"W-well, I'm going to st-start with Frisk today, if that's alright?" Frisk snaps to attention, smiling and nodding at the prospect of going first. "G-good! We'll be d-downstairs. When you're r-ready, j-join us alright?"

Join them? Why aren't you going?

"got something i want to ask you about," Sans says. "science related."

Frisk looks skeptical as they follow Alphys to the elevator. You are too. He's probably just checking in on you after that text earlier. As soon as the elevator door shuts, he starts talking.

"what happened?"

"Can we do this at Grillby's later? Please? Grillby felt whatever again and I don't want to tell this twice." You know it's selfish, but you really don't want to go over your run in with Flowey twice. You want to tell it once and then put it behind you. That sounds nice.

"sure thing. just... are you ok now? will you be ok?" The lights in his sockets scan you for injuries as he talks.

"I'm fine." Sans narrows his eyes  at you. "Sans, I wasn't hurt. Just shaken up." You press your hand to his cheekbone and, after a few seconds, he takes your word for it and presses into your hand.

"i don't mean to be pushy. just getting a message like that rattled my bones a bit and not in a good way." His hand gently grasps yours and pulls it down, but doesn't let it go. "so i did actually have something sciencey to ask you about."

Before you can tease him about making up words, he keeps talking. "do you mind if i help out here sometimes? i know i usually work, but i'd like to pop in and help. give alphys an extra set of sockets and hands that aren't trying to kill you." His eyes flick up towards Alphys living quarters where Mettaton probably is. "even just once a week or so. if you're comfortable with it."

"You miss this, don't you?"

"miss what? you? duh."

You roll your eyes. "No, not me. This," you say as you gesture to the lab. "Gaster may have been an asshole, but you loved being a scientist – I can tell by the way you talk about it. Wait a second, is this why you invited Alphys to dinner?" Sans the scheming skeleton sounds like a role of his.

"n-no, i just ran into her at the store. i swear. it just felt like old times." 

"Sans, I was teasing. Really. Also, yes. You can join this crazy science project whenever you want."

He smirks, grabbing you and pulling you towards the elevator. "good. i've got lots of 'experiments' that i'd like to run with you. first i need to know more 'bout you. so, i'll start with mapping out your skeletal structure tonight."

"You already did that. I noticed that yesterday mister sneaky skeleton."

His smirk somehow becomes darker, more feral as he watches you. "that was only your spine and with my fingers. i have a whole body to explore with my hands. then my tongue. 's only good science."

 

* * *

 

You weren't wrong. Sans had missed this. Maybe not this place, but he'd missed the work and Alphys. There was a few minutes of awkward tension before, without warning, the tension had shattered with a really good (or bad, depending on your point of view) pun.

Alphys is just taking notes on you right now (although you don't miss her extra concentration – she's probably looking to see if she can sense the difference with Sans being in the room or something) and Sans is sitting on a bed next to the one you're on, reading the notes that Alphys has taken on your SOUL.

Or trying to. You notice that he keeps having to force himself to look at them instead of you.

" _Alphys, you're almost out of dog food! Indogeny requests steak flavored. Or I think they did._ " Frisk, current spokesperson of the amalgamates, is covered in ghost slime. Ew. " _I think that's what the majority of them wanted at least._ "

"ew, kid, what the hell are you covered in?" Sans manages to look away from everything involving you to look at Frisk.

" _Ghost dog slime._ "

"ghost...?" Sans is great at playing stupid. How many times has he learned about the amalgamates now?

"I s-should t-tell you w-what I've b-been up t-to Sans," Alphys' voice cracks with fear. "C-can y-you t-two give us a f-few m-minutes?"

"C'mon Frisk. Let's go raid a fridge, I'm starving." You move quickly, wrapping an arm around their shoulders and leading them out of the room before they can fight it.

" _Why are we being kicked out?_ " Frisk has made their thoughts semi-private at least as they grumble in your thoughts. " _We already know all of that._ "

"Frisk," you say, keeping your voice quiet enough to not echo in the chamber. "Before you fell, Sans worked here under his dad with Alphys. They were friends."

" _So? We're all friends._ "

"Alphys might want to tell him why and how this all happened." Frisk's face twists in thought. "As far as I know, this is the first time they've actually talked since he's died."

" _Without Chara, you mean._ "

What can you say to that? "Frisk-"

" _No, it's cool. It's getting easier to talk about them. It's been three months and I still can't feel them_." You think the conversation is over and just in time – you're in the odd room with three fridges. Oh, thank god, food! You're still hurting from the training this morning.

" _I think they're really gone for good._ "

"I hope so. Now, kid, food. Whaddya want?"

" _Chocolate milk?_ " There's no way that that's an option. You're pleasantly surprised when you open the door and -

"Well, I'll be damned. Two chocolate milks coming right up."

" _Two?_ "

"Um, one for me?

Frisk snorts as you get to work. Pure liquid chocolate syrup and milk – childhood in a glass. It'll be a good distraction from the serious conversation that's going on a few hallways away.

" _You're making it?_ " Um, what?

"What do you mean making it?"

" _I've always had it already made._ " Poor Frisk – they've only had the premade shit? It's easy to forget how cruel the human world is down here. Too easy sometimes. It's hard to imagine Frisk being a mute kid, stuck communicating with their hands alone, in an orphanage on the surface. " _\----?_ "

"You poor thing. I'm about to change your LIFE child. Your LIFE." You won't give them pity. Frisk is too proud to want anyone's pity. "Now shush and let me work."

It only takes another two minutes before you're handing Frisk a glass. They immediately take a sip.

" _Oh my god._ " Another sip. " _This is awesome._ "

The two of you drink slowly. Frisk, in a brilliant bid to waste time, starts to teach you real sign language. You're not very good at it.

" _Your 'K's suck._ "

You're getting ready to retort when there's a loud whirring noise and then silence. What the hell was that? Your eyes are wide and so are Frisk's. Is the room getting darker?

Yes. Yes it is.

" _Ugh, the generator must have tripped. That's what Alphys always said made this room go misty._ "

Sure enough, the room was getting foggy. Frisk grabs your hand, quickly explaining that this room gets dark. They weren't wrong. You could barely see Frisk through the dark.

"I think I like the void better."

" _Me too._ "

You're getting out of this room. Fuck this. It's dark, creepy, and – the hairs on your neck start to stand on end. "Frisk. Do you feel something?"

" _No?_ "

You do. You feel like you're being watched. Like there are eyes are all around you.

"Of course they are."

You just about jump out of your skin. What the -

"Uh-uh-uh. Not a peep. You didn't listen to me dearest," the static voice purrs in your head, "You told. I don't know how, but you got around my magic."

Fantastic, you're hearing voices now. How did this voice know you? You squeeze Frisk's hand, mumbling something about how you were just creeped out. 

"So you don't remember. That infernal child is going to be so disappointed. Either way -no keep walking- not a word to anyone about me."

This was the thing that kept you from sharing your SOUL with Sans. You feel the familiarity in its presence. 

"I abhor being called a 'thing'. Now, keep your SOUL away from Sans and Papyrus or I will kill the child." Whatever this is, you know it can. The promise in its words... 

"Oh yes, not a word to anyone about this conversation either. See you around, my dear."

Suddenly, the room seems lighter.

 

 

What WAS that?

 

Why was it so familiar? 

 

* * *

 

You go straight to Grillby's after you finish at the lab. Frisk had hung out to talk with Alphys for a few more minutes with Sans so you'd, after making sure it was fine with Sans, had booked it out of there and to the bar.

Holy fuck.

Grillby is just unlocking the door to his bar when you walk up to it.

" _Well hello there._ " You don't say anything. What can you say? Grillby rolls his eyes (or something like that) and pulls you into his chest for a hug.

"Um, hi? What's this for?"

" _You look like you needed it._ " He lets you go, ushering you into the empty bar. " _You smell terrible. Did you even shower before you came here?_ "

"Nope. Sans has Frisk for another few minutes and I needed a drink now."

" _Lucky me. I'm hurt, by the way. You never just come to say 'hi'._ " He's smirking.

"You don't care. My gold keeps you from caring," you say, returning his smirk.

" _Fair enough._ " As he pours your drink, the other heavy drinkers of Snowdin waltz in. Great, you're one of those people now. Grillby is quick, getting your drink to you and theirs to them in record time.

"So," you hear Grillby's english directed at you for this first time in weeks, "want to tell me about your day?"

"Later. Right now, can you just distract me?"

"Of course."

 


	58. Sitting at a Bar

Less than an hour after opening, all the regulars are present too. None of them mention your lack of Frisk or early appearance at the bar. You're on your third drink when Sans and Frisk come in, the light buzz doing a great job of melting away the day's bullshit . You recognize Grillby's welcoming 'flash' for lack of better word towards Sans so, without even spinning around, you wave towards the door.

"Ohhh, it's Sansy!" The drunken rabbit (possibly the one monster that could drink you under the bus) slurs at Sans. That's the only warning you get before you feel Sans wrap his arms around you.

"Ew, don't. I'm gross!"

"Yeah Sans, don't. It's gross," Grillby makes a gagging noise.

"shuddup. and i don't think your gross."

"That's because you're gross," Grillby quips for you.

"Yeah, what he said." Sans just squeezes you tighter for a second before he hops on the stool next to you. There's worry in Sans sockets, but he's squashing it down from the look of it. "Where's Frisk?"

"with paps."

"I take it your night away went well?" Grillby smirks. He's (apparently) been waiting for this.

You feel your face heat up and, glancing over at Sans, you see that he looks a lot like you right now. Looking at you with a blush on his cheekbones. "Yeah," you squeak, "It did." You stare at the bar top.

"you were right, grillbz. 'bout us." Huh, he must have polished it recently.

Even examining the bar, you feel the smugness roll off of your best friend. "Of course I was. I want a good seat at the wedding." Oh god. Grillby.

"grillbz," Sans sputters next to you.

"Relax Sans. I'm just trying to holding you two _over the coals_ for a bit."

"Did you just -" Your head snaps up. Did Grillby just make a fire joke? Yes, yes he did.

"grillby, i'm so proud."

The three of you slip into an easy banter, Grillby having to actually do his job while it's busy. Sans tries to wait, you'll give him that, but he can't.

"so. what happened at the lab?" Sans leans close, arm going around you. "you were all shaken up after alphys finished telling me about her experiments."

You want to tell him. You want to so badly, but there's that damn interference in your SOUL again. You open your mouth and you can't get the words out. "The power outage just made it creepy down there. I started feeling claustrophobic."

So much for no lying. He looks you over for a second before he nods. It almost hurts more that he believes you.

"ok, next time just say that. scared me seeing you almost as white as i am. 'snot normal for a human to be that color, is it?"

You roll your eyes. "Remember, I'm not a science experiment."

"yes you are. the best kind." His grin becomes real when you scrunch your face up at him. "the long term kind too."

Grillby reappears, a lull in the service giving him a break. "Comparing her to an experiment? Sans, I may not have had a mate in a long time, but that's not a thing to say. So now that I have a break – what happened?"

You try to discreetly look around the bar. It's noisy, busy, and everyone looks preoccupied with their own conversations. Good. Deep breath and -

"Flowey. Flowey happened."

The result of your words is immediate. Grillby looks lost, and Sans? Sans snarls, a guttural sound deep in his throat. You immediately grab his hand and give it a squeeze.

"He didn't actually hurt me. Startled me and terrified me, but he didn't hurt me."

"Who's Flowey?" You let Sans answer that one, (Did you break him? His sockets are empty and he still hasn't moved) which he does after a full minute of nothing. Grillby listens to Sans' quick and quiet explanation.

"A flower monster?" Grillby frowns. "He calls himself Flowey? Are we sure Asgore didn't name him?"

You're barely listening. You need to keep a very close eye on Frisk. Should you warn them that Flowey wants a reset?

Sans startles you out of your daze by laughing. When your mind catches up, you don't get what was funny.

"Um?"

"that was a good one grillbz. two in one night." Sans is still giggling when he catches the question in your eyes. "asgore names everything down here. snowdin was one of his more clever names. i mean we have home, new home, hotland, waterfall... when we got to the surface in other times he called our settlement 'new new home'." Sans giggles again.

"He didn't. Tell me he didn't," Grillby sounds appalled. You knew that the names weren't that creative, but to know that Asgore named them... "No wonder Frisk reset. I would too."

There's a moment when none of you say anything before Sans snickers and you all burst out laughing. Granted, it wasn't actually funny, but something about this was. Maybe it was the stress of today for you or maybe it was just the hilariousness of how ridiculous the resets sound when talked about.

Either way, by the time you're all done laughing you're crying, Sans had slid out of his bar stool, and Grillby has to apologize to at least three patrons.

"Should would tell Frisk?" You're wiping the tears out of your eyes and catching your breath as Sans slides back into his seat. He doesn't answer at first, thinking.

"yeah. they need to be on guard." Sans, who's been nursing a ketchup bottle, reaches over and –slowly- grabs your drink away and takes a sip. "so do you. i just have a feeling that he's dangerous. i wish i knew why i had that feeling." Sans groans then, tracing a line on the bar with his finger. 

"Sans, what's wrong?"

"'m trying really hard to not be the controlling boyfriend. really hard. it's not me to begin with, but i know what you've been through too." He takes a big breath, his grin falling for a second before he pulls it back up. He looks nervous as he rubs the grain of the bar with his finger now. "there's something i need you to do."

"Anything." You mean it.

"train with me too. even just once a week. i need to know you can handle yourself. i know frisk has it in them if they can channel it. i won't actually hurt you i swear."

"I'm not worried about that, Sans."

"i am. fuck, i'm asking you to let me take shots at you." He sinks down, burying his head in his hands. "that was a dumb idea. don't worry about it."

"It's not dumb. It's smart. You're doing it to make sure I'll be safe, not to actually hurt me. There's a HUGE difference. So bring it bone boy. I'm down."

It takes Sans a minute to answer. You can see him weighing his options, thinking about the consequences of each potential action.

"I'm fighting everyone else down here, why not you too?"

"fine." He leans into you. "only if you promise to let me know the second that it's not ok anymore. no sucking it up, no fighting through it, or anything like that."

"I promise."

"good. now let's get some grub, sober you up, and go home."

 

* * *

 

Frisk takes Flowey being back around very well. They look worried when you and Sans sit them down while Papyrus gets ready for bed. In childlike fashion, Frisk is more concerned about when they actually are moving in here.

You're still incredibly worried about Flowey. Frisk is worried about having their own bed without taking up all of Papyrus' space. Oh, priorities.

" _So when?_ "

"I don't know," you grumble from your spot on the floor. Why weren't they worried? "Ask someone else."

" _Papyrus, when can we move in?_ " Frisk moves to poor Papyrus, who had just came back stairs. Sans chuckles from his spot on the couch above you.

"SOON! SANS, WE'LL NEED A NEW COUCH AS WELL!" Papyrus clasps his hands together. "A BIGGER ONE! IT'S NOT GOING TO BE JUST US ANYMORE!"

"nope. the family's getting bigger." Sans playfully rubs his foot against the back of your head. If he had skin, it'd be gross. "wait a second, are you guys gonna throw me out?"

"NEVER!" Papyrus smirks and Sans foot stops on your shoulder. Skin or no skin, it's still kind of gross. "Well, maybe. Your spot depends on you PICKING UP YOUR SOCKS!"

Sans doesn't say anything and you assume he's just grinning like a fool when you run your finger on the underside of his foot. He twitches away from you.

"Sans, are you ticklish?" You repeat the action.

"no." Too fast.

" _Liar!_ " Frisk pounces.

"oi, help!" Poor Sans didn't know what hit him when all three of you went after him. It turns out that the sides of his ribs and behind his knees are ticklish too.

 

* * *

 

"so you're really doing it."

"Doing what?"

Sans is snuggled up with you that night, wrapped around you, apparently unable to sleep. You're wired too, but you're afraid of dreaming. Or not dreaming. Who knows which?

"moving in. you really want this with me."

"Yep. I'm in it for the free hotdogs, by the way." You can't keep the laughter out of your voice. "And the sex."

"i'm in it for the science experiment." You jump, something touching your shoulder.

"Did you just lick me?"

"yup. i think i promised to explore you tonight." You feel a shift on the bed behind you and Sans nibbles at your neck, tongue stopping at your pulse. "i guess i should clean my room before it's actually ours though."

"Just move the treadmill over so I don't trip over it at night."

Sans chuckles. "that's it?"

"Hmmm," you stretch the word out, pretending to think about it. "No food in the trash tornado. And that's it."

You feel him shake his head on your shoulder as if in disbelief. He's quiet for what feels like a long while, his hand seeking out your pulse on your neck. He's getting lost in his thoughts again. If you turn around, you know what you'll see. Those bright lights in his sockets, if they're there at all, will be dull and hazy, lost in memories.

"So there's a more interesting place to check my pulse than on my neck," you attempt to purr out. It sounds awkward to your own ears, but maybe he won't think so.

"where's that?"

You don't answer, just roll onto your back and take his hand and move it to your inner thigh, onto your femoral artery. Sans makes a low-pitched whine next to you. Did you fuck up?

"that's interesting," he finally says, the playfulness back in his voice. "now, i think i have a body to map out. for science."

You look up at him and feel your SOUL burst with love – the lights in his eyes are bright and focused on you. For now, you've chased off whatever demons were in that skull of his.

"Well, as long as it's for science."

 

* * *

 

You wake up first, much less violently than yesterday thank god. You're big spoon this time, part of your foot caught between his tibia and fibula. Shit. You shift your foot -

"good morn – well, haven't woken up with a human in-between my bones before." You go to move again and he squeezes your arm. "no, stay for a minute longer."

"Doesn't this hurt?" You clear your throat. "It can't feel good."

"nope. feels weird, but not bad. 'm not used to waking up with someone else." He presses into you and together, the two of you just relax for a few minutes. There's no Flowey, no weird static-y voice, and no human/monster politics. Just you and Sans.

After a few moments, his breathing deepens and slows. Asleep again. You think about getting up, about getting the day started.

Nah.

The day can wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been waiting for this to be done for what feels like forever now, but anyway, check [this](https://youtu.be/CUPHqhotql0) out! Animators are so cool.
> 
> Eh, not too thrilled with this chapter.


	59. Growing Pains

"are you sure you're fine with this?" Sans is sweating despite the cold of the forest, nervous in front of you.

"Yep." It's been a week since Sans suggested you occasionally going against him. "I'm fine with it, unless you don't want to. I don't want to make you do anything that you don't want to do."

Sans head snaps back, sockets wide and jaw slack. "of course i don't want to fucking fight with you. gaster designed me to be able to kill – not like he did paps, but i'm still powerful. i don't know how your SOUL is going to hold up against me."

You know you should be scared right now, but you're not. You trust Sans implicitly. "You're not going to hurt me."

"i wish i was as sure as you are right now," he hisses out -you don't think you were meant to hear that- and you're still not scared. "fine. the blasters won't hurt you, but i'm going to use them."

You feel the delight showing on your face. Sans probably thinks you're unhinged. Maybe you are, but this is exciting.

Sans shakes his head and takes a few more steps away from you. He shoves his hand in his pockets, closes his eyes, and you feel his magic poking at your SOUL. He's careful, but it's still rougher than before. The same second that he pulls it out, he opens his eyes.

From a distance, he looks slightly frightening. You're glad you told Frisk to stay out of the forest until you got back. You have a flash of seeing him like this in that hall in New Home. It was a beautiful day out and there were birds singing in the distance. How are there birds underground? You smell flowers. His sockets narrowed, magical eye pulsating with raw power, and feeling the hint of blue magic on you -

Except that never happened.

It's mid-morning in Snowdin, he isn't crackling with anger or magic, and he damn sure isn't trying to hurt you.

"ready?"

Hell yes!

 

* * *

 

Sans is _strong_. He's pulling his (magical) punches, but he's still tougher than Undyne. He may not be physical like Undyne, but that doesn't make him weak. Each hit that connects saps your energy hard.

You're shaking, exhausted, and the smug bastard hasn’t even taken his hands out of his pockets.

When he pulls out a Blaster (Draco, you think), you're honestly scared for a second. He'd pulled the Blaster out of the void so quickly that you had barely sensed the creature. The giant skull rushes at you and knocks you on your ass in the snow.

And then licks you. What the hell?

Sans laughs from behind the skull as you shakily pet – yup, it's Draco, he has the small crack on his lower mandible- the large creature.

“i wouldn't actually hurt you, jeeze.” He laughs harder once he sees you. “although he wasn't supposed to rush you. apparently my blasters love you too.”

“I'm kind of fond of them too.” Draco chirps at you, giving you a reproachful look. You scratch and pet harder, pressing a kiss to his muzzle. “Is that better, Draco?”

He chirps louder and presses into you. You'll take that as a ‘yes’.

When you finally look up, you see a very happy looking Sans. Draco bumps your attention back to him before he helps you to your feet. “you did well. you’re fast.”

You beam at Sans praise. “It's all Undyne and Paps. You held back though.”

“guilty. i had to check out what you can do. now can you send some of that loving my way or…?”

“You always get it. You can share with the Blasters.” You keep petting the skull, but keep your eyes on Sans. He makes a disproving sound in his throat, but it's an act - the lights in his eyes are glimmering in affection. “Uh-oh. You better go, bud. Sans is getting jealous,” you coo.

“am not,” he says, reaching an arm towards Draco. Reluctantly, the creature removes itself from you and moves towards Sans. Slowly, he fades back to the void.

“next week I’ll actually teach you some things, promise."

"Can you use your gravity magic?" What can you say? You're a glutton for punishment. "Papyrus won't use it on me."

Sans shakes his head at you (again). "insane. you're insane, but one day. i'll talk to paps about it though. i have more control of mine, but paps is gentler than i am with it," he explains.

"I know I'm crazy. I didn't know there was a difference with it." You're still grinning from ear to ear from his praise and you smile even wider when he wraps his hand around yours again. One of the side-effects of the SOUL sharing was that Sans (and, even though you hate to admit it, you too) were almost always touching each other. You tried not to be in your face gross with it, but holding hands, wrapping an arm around the other, or even just leaning on each other was the new normal.

So far no one's said anything to you two, so you can't be that bad. Even if you are, it's nice to have this with someone.

"i'm still used to throwing chara into pillars. paps doesn't throw people. besides, wrapping your SOUL in my magic would be a little too tempting for me." He gives you a lazy wink. "home?"

"Yeah, I've got to grab Frisk. Then to the lab I go."

"i'll give you both a lift," Sans says as he opens the void.

 

* * *

 

Sans hadn't hung around today. He'd had to work and you're pretty sure it's his day to tell bad jokes with Tori too. Undyne would call it slacking on the job, but he'd call it multitasking.

What does it say about you that you agree with the multitasking?

Mettaton was helping Alphys again today. Today was his first day back in action. He'd decided to wait on his repairs rather than go back into that rectangular body and, honestly, you couldn't blame him. Your truce with him was an uneasy one, but you could understand the need to be able to express yourself.

You still refused to turn your back on him, just to be safe.

" _Any change?_ "

"N-no. S-sorry Frisk." Alphys squeezes Frisk's shoulder. "I k-know it seems like it's b-been a l-long time, b-but three months isn't th-that long in the g-grand scheme. F-for all w-we know your SOUL m-may ch-change on a specific birthday or after a s-specific life event."

Frisk frowns as their SOUL re-enters their body. They've been wanting to see their SOUL change colors for weeks, eyeing it carefully, looking for the most minute change. There's been none to it. The heart is still the same ruby red that it was three months ago.

" _I hate just being determined. Why can't I be kind or patient? What even is 'determination'?_ "

What do you say to that? Apparently none of you have an answer for Frisk.

" _See! None of you know what kind of trait it is!_ " There's so much anger and frustration in their voice. Your heart breaks for them, it really does.

"Shut up, kid," Mettaton's voice is louder than usual.

"M-Mettaton-"

"No. Determination is an awesome trait. You set your mind to something and you do it. That's rare, kid." Mettaton slowly, so slowly that you know he's exaggerating it for you, clasps both of Frisk's shoulders in his hands. "Not many monsters can do that."

" _But ----'s SOUL-_ "

"My SOUL is my SOUL," you finally chime in. "Not yours. It's also a terrible example, considering there is a giant crack down the middle of it. We don't even know if mine's normal. For all I know I'm some sort of abomination." A giant crack of void, but Sans was the only one who knew that.

Frisk is still frowning, but at least now they look thoughtful instead of sad. " _I'm sorry._ "

"It's f-f-fine. Alright ---- you're up!" You aren't prepared for when your SOUL flies out this time. You'd wanted to talk to Frisk first, but it's too late now. "S-So t-t-today I want to see how your S-SOUL handles what you p-perceive as d-danger."

"Which means, you'll be hanging out with me," Mettaton says with a slight purr. "I'm flattered."

 

* * *

 

After that, you aren't afraid of Mettaton anymore. While he's not playing dirty now –and it helps that you aren't sprinting through the underground- he isn't treating you like a child either. If there was a way to make up for killing you, this was it. You're pretty sure you'd at least be able to stand your ground against him if you had to again.

"Not bad, ----. For a human at least." Well that was quite the half-assed compliment.

"M-Mettaton," Alphys sounds irritated. "Sh-she did excellent! St-stop picking f-fights!"

"It's fine," you say. Mettaton isn't going to get under you skin. At least not that easily. You can handle him being a rude ass, so long as he isn't trying to kill you. You even throw the robot a cheeky grin for good measure.

Frisk giggles at the exchange. You're glad to see them happy – something's been off with them for a little over a week now. At first, you thought it was that you and Sans were getting more serious (or cementing that this was really happening). You'd pressed to make sure that they were actually fine with moving in with the two skeleton monsters, which had gotten you an enthusiastic yes, but still something seemed off.

So you'd dropped it against all your better instincts, remembering that you didn't like to be pressed either, and just hoped that they'd open up to you.

"Frisky, ready to head back to Snowdin?"

"Can we get some nice cream first?" Frisk clasps their hands together in front of them. " _Please?_ "

"As long as the elevators are working, sure."

 

* * *

 

Nice Creams are the best foods ever. Yum! It's worth the short detour out of the way for one (or two) for sure. Frisk seems really happy for now, talkative and happy on the way to the Riverperson. You are too, actually. Is it the Nice Cream?

Yes, you realize when you catch sight of the Riverperson and Mettaton of all monsters, it is. Maybe you shouldn't let Frisk eat mood-changing foods. If it wasn't for the food's influence, you would have probably spun on your heel and walked through Waterfall.

Instead, you keep walking towards the two monsters.

Mettaton smiles when he catches sight of the two of you. Unlike his usual million-watt smile, this one is genuine and nervous. The sides of his lips tremble lightly. "Hello again darlings!"

"What do you want Mettaton?"

"I, er, I," Mettaton never stumbles over his words like this. There's a ethereal sounding giggle that comes from the hooded figure behind Mettaton – even the Riverperson was enjoying this. "I know you have no reason to help me, but I was wondering if you could do me a favor?"

Your eyes narrow slightly. Is he out of his goddamn mind? Why would you help him?

"Nothing crazy, I promise! Oh, hell. I need your help. With Blooky!" Your retort dies in your mouth when he mentions Blooky. "I don't know how to face him after everything."

"What can we do?" You sigh loudly. Are you really going to help him?

Yes.

"Can you two come with me? I don't know what you two can do, but – If you're friends with him, maybe he won't slam his door in my face."

You can do it for Blooky, even if you really doubt that the ghost would ever slam a door in anyone's face.

"Well, Frisk. You down for a trip to see Blooky?"

" _That sounds like fun!_ "

"It's your lucky day, robocop. We'll go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *tries to write through writer's block* 
> 
> *bangs head on keyboard*
> 
> *still better writing than anything I typed out*
> 
> Ok, so it's not that bad, but I do have some serious writer's block.


	60. Liar, Liar

Mettaton has been standing outside of Napstablook's house for about five minutes now, rocking back and forth on his feet, wringing his still comically huge hands together. He's even chewing on his lip. 

Frisk is now pacing from boredom and you're having to try really hard to not laugh in the robot's face.  

"So, are you gonna knock or do you want one of us to do the honors?" 

"I am," Mettaton gives an indignant huff, but doesn't move. 

" _Bored._ " Mettaton gives Frisk a dirty look. " _What? You're taking FOREVER."_  

_"_ You really are. Mettaton, he isn't going to bite. I bet he's going to be thrilled to see you." 

Mettaton nods his head, but still doesn't move. It only takes another few seconds before Frisk gives an audible eye roll (the kid could sass better than you could sometimes) before they walk up to the door and knock. 

No answer. 

" _No one's home. So what's the plan now?"_  

Mettaton gives a dramatic blink that was, for once, not for show. "Um, now..? I'll go to Hotland and try again -" 

"Oh. Are you all lost?" Napstablook startles all three of you by appearing beside you. "Do you need directions to -" 

"Blooky?" Mettaton stares at the ghost who stares back. This is awkward. "It's me Blooky, I-" 

"Mettaton? Is that really you?" You smile as the ghost cautiously floats closer to Mettaton. 

"Yes, Blooky I-" He's cut off by Blooky throwing himself into Mettaton's arms. 

 

* * *

 

The inside of Blooky's place is bare, which makes you sad. The ghost himself is the happiest you've ever seen him, only hiccupping back into bashfulness occasionally. He really was only as sad as he was because of Mettaton. 

The thought sends a flash of anger through you that you quickly squash down. No, you can't be angry now. Mettaton is trying to make amends now.  

"So what do you say? How do you feel about running a music program?" Mettaton is laying on the floor next Napstablook, arms folded across his chest.

"I don't know, M. I don't think anyone would like my music," the ghost says.  

"I like it!" You chime in again. "I get that it's probably private for you, but Blooky, it's good!" 

" _Yeah, it is! It's spooky and awesome!"_  

Napstablook's frown transforms into a small smile. "Th-Thanks." He starts talking about the specifics of how he puts his tracks together when your phone buzzes. 

**Punmaster** **: Where are you guys?**  

**You:** **Blooky's** **with** **Mettaton** **. Why?**  

No answer. 

" _Sis, can we bring Papyrus over here soon?"_  

"Sure?" If anyone could boast the ghost's self-esteem, it would be Papyrus.  

 

* * *

 

You're back at the Inn that night (no word from Sans – you're starting to get worried), Frisk curled up next to you, when your phone buzzes again. It's a number you don't recognize. 

**???: It's** **Mettaton** **. Thank you.**  

You grin. So he can be nice.  

" _Sis? Who is it?_ " 

"It's Mettaton. He was just saying thank you. You expecting a text?" 

" _Sort of..._ " Frisk doesn't say anything else. Of course. 

**Knock K** **nock**  

The two raps on the door are light. You quickly clamber out of bed and open the door –it's Sans. He looks so nervous in front of you again that it's almost like a flashback of the first time he came by ages ago. His hands are shoved in the pockets of his hoodie, sweat beading on his forehead, and his now normally bright eyes are small and hazy. 

"Are you alright?" He gulps and nods jerkily. "Sans?" 

"i'm sorry – it's been a day. i need to talk to the kid."  

"What's the matter?" 

"----, please." His voice is desperate, so you step aside and usher him in. To your surprise, when he spots Frisk he glares at them. "what did you say to her?"  

Frisk, who had looked confused up until this point, blanches. You feel like you're missing something huge right now.  

" _I didn't say anything,"_ Frisk is clearly lying, curling up to make themselves smaller. They look to you and no, you're not going to help them. Not when they're lying. Unless Sans gets nasty with them, then you will.  

"don't lie to me frisk. i thought we were past this."  

"What's going on?" Neither one of them answer you, they're too busy glaring at each other. This is awkward. 

" _I don't want to talk about it,"_ Frisk gives a huff.  

"too bad. i got screamed at because of you and i want to know why."  

There's a few more tense moments before Frisk breaks down into tears. Sans glare instantly softens.  

"keep forgetting that they're just a kid," he mumbles and you think it's more to himself than to you. He goes over to the bed and sits just within arms reach of them and offers them a hand. "tori yelled at me." 

Frisk just looks guilty as they take his hand, but look at you. " _'m so sorry. I lied to Mom. I told her that the two of us were sticking together since... you and Sans weren't working out?_ " 

Sans jaw goes slack and so does yours. "Are you serious? Why would you lie about that?"  

" _I didn't want to hurt her feelings! She told me that I shouldn't be doing something as dangerous as trying to break the barrier so I didn't want to tell her that's why I was staying out here. I was alone and I thought she might open the door and make me go with her!_ " 

"Frisk, honey, you can't just lie. I get why you did it," you pause to think as you crawl back into bed next to Frisk, "but you should have at least told Sans what you told her." 

Frisk sniffles, still looking guilty.  

"i wouldn't have minded lying for ya kid, but i needed to know. it was _baaadddd_ ," Sans ends on a joke which makes both you and Frisk laugh. "i thought she'd be happy for us all, but instead I _goat_ screamed at." 

Frisk lets out another wet-sounding giggle. " _I am sorry._ " 

"i know. i'd say that you should tell her your sorry, but uh, i don't think she wants to talk to any of us right now." 

" _Can you stay with us tonight?"_  

"not tonight, i've got stuff to do. i can stay 'til you fall asleep though." Frisk beams up at Sans and you feel your SOUL melt.  

 

* * *

 

 

When Frisk finally falls asleep, Sans jerks his head toward the door. You hear the unspoken question and nod, slowly and quietly following Sans out onto the landing. 

"sorry about that," Sans sighs. "it was bad and i was really pissed off most of the afternoon. may or may not have spent most of the afternoon taking down trees for those bridges of yours." 

"What happened?" 

"mentioned you and frisk moving in and she lost her shit. told me i was as bad as asgore," Sans sighs again and deflates into you, "'m not as bad as him, right? not a murderer, right? or am i?" 

Poor Sans. His irritation made more sense now as did his anger with Frisk. Tori had unknowingly hit the worst nerve she could have. It's amazing that he cooled down so quickly. Shit, you need to answer him. You quickly wrap your arms around him. "Of course you're not. You've never just killed for no reason, right?" 

"but i have." He slouches into you. Poor Sans.  

"Sans, you were placed in an impossible situation. You're not like Asgore." You gently rub the back of his skull and he –finally- relaxes. 

"thank you," his voice is low under your chin. "so we have a new couch coming and a new bed for their room coming in five days." 

"Oh?" 

"i'm thinking it'd be good if you two could just come in with the new furniture." 

"Really? Just move everything new in at once?"  

"mmhmm."  

"You going to toss us out in a few years when you need new furniture too?"  

Sans laughs into your neck. "sure am. just going to push you both into the dump." 

You laugh and after another minute, Sans pulls back. He looks like a weight has been lifted off of him.  

"You aren't like Asgore," you repeat. "I'm sorry Frisk got you yelled at." 

"it's fine. they are just a kid. so will you?" 

Will you what? Oh – you hadn't answered him. "Yeah, that sounds good. Sounds great actually." 

His mouth tugs up into a smile before he kisses you.  

"good. well, i need to go. stuff to do and whatever. goodnight." 

"Goodnight." You're embarrassed by how breathless you sound. His smile becomes more of a smirk at that, but he doesn't call you on it. 

 

* * *

 

 

For the first time in, how long? Weeks? Yeah, weeks. For the first time in weeks you aren't just in the void at night. It's weird how you can't remember this when you're awake, but you can easily remember the other nights when you're asleep.  

Instead of the void, you're in front of a wall of moving color. It changes from white to black and looks like a hallway.  

You aren't alone. Chara's beside you, looking more human than demon.  

"Hey," you speak first. 

" _Hey yourself."_ They're staring down the hall. " _Do you know where we are?"_  

"Nope." You watch the color changing corridor with them.  

_"Can you hurry up and remember these fucking dreams?"_  

"I wish I could. I'm sure awake me would LOVE to know that you're still here along with whatever that other thing is that's now talking to me in the day now."  

Chara laughs, the static almost bell like. " _He's talking to you during the day now? That's not good_."  

"Who is he?" 

" _Not allowed to tell you his name. He's mad enough at me for talking to you."_  

"Why do you talk to me anyway?" Chara didn't always appear, but they talked to you fairly frequently. The two of you weren't friends by any stretch of the imagination, but over the months Chara had stopped being quite so...murder-y with you. 

" _Frisk won't talk to me anymore,"_ they shrug, " _So it's not like I actually have anyone besides him to talk to. And I've had him for years now._ _He was funny at one point, but... Not anymore. So you it is._ _"_  

_This is the barrier. This is where you're heading one way or the other."'_  

“It doesn't look like a barrier.” It doesn't. It reminds you more of an endless hallway from a video game.  

“ _It is. Don't try to just walk through it, it hurts._ _Asriel_ _and I use to just sit and look at this thing for ages."_  

"Asriel? Wasn't he your brother?"  

" _And my best friend. Then he flaked on our plan and we both ended up dead. Then I lost my SOUL and here we are._ _"_  

"What happens if you get your SOUL back?"  

" _I can rest,"_  Chara breathes out.  

Bullshit. 

"Liar." 

Just like that, Chara's face breaks – the black breaks free and they are terrifying once more.  

" _Clever. Very clever._ _"_  

You startle awake, memory of red eyes boring into yours instantly fading. 


	61. Impersonations

" _Are you alright?_ "

"Huh? Yeah, Frisk. Sorry, I'm fine."

" _Another bad dream?_ "

"I guess," you say as you sit up. You're covered in sweat; your hair, clothes, and necklace all stick to your skin. "Yeah, another nightmare."

Frisk frowns, their face scrunching up in concern as they climb into your lap. You try and push them off, but they don't budge as they get in your face, brown eyes staring into yours.

"Frisk?"

" _You don't remember?_ " It's like they're looking for something in you.

"Nope."

Frisk's eyes stare into yours. " _If you do, will you tell me about it? I'm worried about you._ "

"Sure thing Frisk. Now can you get up? I want a shower before we do anything else today."

" _Even though we have PE this morning?_ " You snort at Frisk calling your training 'Physical Education'.

"Yup. Now get off me!" You keep your tone light and it works – Frisk stops examining you to press all of their weight into you.

" _But you’re sooo comfy!_ "

"I'll remember this! But seriously, up. I need to talk to Bunny before we go." Frisk doesn't ask as they roll off of you after another minute. You give them a second before you bait them. "Yeah, I need to give Bunny notice that we're leaving."

Their head snaps up, eyes wide with a giant grin. " _We're leaving?!?_ "

"Yup. Four more days now, I think?"

Frisk shrieks just like Papyrus does in your head.

Ow.

 

* * *

 

Papyrus doesn't use his blue magic on you today either. Undyne uses her green magic on you, but Papyrus simply states during the switch that his is offensive versus defensive.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN GREEN ISN'T OFFENSIVE?" Undyne is roaring at Papyrus now. Papyrus just keeps smiling, used to Undyne's shenanigans

"UNDYNE! IT'S COOL MAGIC, BUT IT IS STILL A SHIELD! MY BLUE MAGIC CAN HOLD A SOUL DOWN OR LIFT IT UP!"

"'STILL A SHIELD'? That's it! We'll see how you do with -"

"Frisk, hun, we need to move out of the firing range," you say as you pull Frisk backwards and away from the fish monster's house.

"My green magic holding you down!" You can't see their SOULs, but Papyrus seems to be locked in one place once Undyne (temporarily) finishes yelling, a clear sign of his SOUL now being green.

"BRING IT ON!"

"Um, we're gonna go ahead and go see Alphys." There's bones and spears flying everywhere. "Uh, bye guys?"

 

* * *

 

"Do you know anything about Flowey?"

"Tra la la ~ la la~ la la," the Riverperson just keeps singing. Frisk's head snaps toward you.

" _He's always been around. Why are you so worried about him now?_ "

You'd never forgotten the flower monster, but you'd managed to push him from your mind. Without Chara, he didn't seem to be a threat. Until now. "I'm just worried about him showing up again after all this time."

Frisk doesn't say anything as the boat approaches Hotland.

"The flower isn't evil," the Riverperson finally speaks. "He's just a child, all alone with no one to understand him."

"Isn't evil? Seriously?" You stare at the hooded figure.

"He was made, created into what he is now. He wasn't born." The Riverperson reaches out and you feel a hand touch your upper arm. "One day, you will remember," their voice whispers in your head, "and when you do it will be spectacular." You don't move as they paddle away.

" _\----, what's wrong? I already told you that Alphys made him by accident_ ," Frisk says.

"Nothing really," you lie before you can stop yourself. How can you get on to them for lying when you do it too? "It's just that... he's been quiet for so long. Why come out now?" 

 

* * *

 

You want to ask Alphys about Flowey. It's on the tip of your tongue the entire time you're there.

' _Hey Alphys, make any murdery yellow flowers recently? Yes? WHY IS IT SO MURDERY?'_

But you don't.

"S-so any progress on moving in with Sans?" Alphys is jotting down notes on today's session on the main floor.

" _Later this week!_ " Frisk is grinning from ear-to-ear again, their mood vastly improved from yesterday.

"R-really? That's awesome! Y-you two are my f-favorite ship of all time and I'msogladthatit'sgoingsowellandthetwoofyoureallygivemehope!" She stops and blushes.

"That's funny," you say once you translate her little outburst, "because you and Undyne are my favorite ship!"

" _Mine too!_ "

Alphys had managed to turn herself back to her normal yellow before both of you flipped the script back on her. Now her scales are even redder than they were the first time around.

"Alphys you're allowed to be happy, you know that right?"

"I-I-I err, th-that is," she sputters.

"Look, I get that it's really not our business, but we all want you to be happy."

"I k-know. S-Sans thinks I should just tell her. Like it's that simple!" Alphys gives a small hysterical giggle. "If s-she knew..."

"Then someone else would know, Alph. Their families consented. Does it suck that they're all, well, amalgamated and shit? Yes. But they're alive!"

"C-can you really call it being alive?"

" _Yes. They're happy. They want to see their families, but they're happy and grateful to you to be alive."_ Frisk gulps. " _You don't need to beat yourself over something that's out of your control._ "

Frisk is talking from experience. Yesterday's outburst... had that had to do with Chara?

"I d-don't know... I did it. It was in my control."

" _No it wasn't. Did you know what was going to happen?_ " Alphys shakes her head. " _Then it wasn't in your control._ "

Alphys doesn't say anything for a long moment as she thinks. "Y-you're right!" Her voice is shakey, but there's a passionate fire in her eyes now.

"Call her. Call her now," you say and she flinches. "Do it!"

The determination in her eyes fades for a second before she shakes it off. "N-no, you're right!" She's quick, grabbing her phone and walking off for a minute.

" _Is she...?_ "

"I think she is."

Alphys comes back after only about a minute, shaking. "I D-DID IT! OH MY GOD." She freezes. "Oh m-my god, I did it. What if she hates me now? Oh god, oh god, oh god."

" _We’re staying here until she gets here, don't worry._ "

"You d-don't need t-to. I'm s-s-sure you have b-better things to do."

"Nope, we're staying. Now sit and breathe woman," you say.

She looks around and, seeing that there was no escape, collapses into her chair.

 

* * *

 

"Yo! Why did you nerds just leave earlier - Um, what's going on?" Undyne stops once she's in the lab and takes in the sight. You can't blame her, it's kind of ridiculous. Frisk is on Alphys' back and you're physically restraining Alphys by holding her down by her arms.

She'd tried to run, you and Frisk had shared a look, and both of you had pounced. Luckily, Undyne had apparently rushed here.

" _Hi Undyne! Alphys wants to talk to you about something important – we just wanted to keep her from chickening out._ "

"Well, I'm here now so um, hands off you two." You let go and Frisk dismounts (and sticks the landing!) as Undyne watches the three of you. You can't believe you just held someone against their will like that.

Not cool, ----. Way to be a dick.

"Umm... So?" Undyne looks lost; her gaze going from you, to Frisk, to Alphys, and back to you again.

Alphys squeaks as Frisk nudges them. There's a second when you think she's going to bolt, but you see a small flame in her eyes again. She's going to do it!

"Th-there's something I need to show you," she mumbles after a second.

"C'mon Frisk, our work here is done for the day. Text me and let me know about a time for tomorrow, okay Alph?"

" _But-_ "

"Let's give them some privacy," you say as you gently push Frisk towards the door. Once they're out, you turn and see Alphys looking at you nervously from in front of Undyne. 'You can do it,' you mouth as you give her a thumbs up.

For revenge, you give her a wink. 'Don't do anything I wouldn't do,' you mouth again.

Before you turn around the poor drake goes the reddest you'd ever seen her go.

 

* * *

 

Moving day sneaks up on you in a blur of activity. 'Moving day'. Ha. Like you had much to move. Most of the books, trinkets, and games the two of you had acquired were really just going back home.

Come to think of is, maybe not a blur of activity. More like a blur of staying busy.

Alphys and Undyne were now a thing (you'd gotten two texts that next morning about not coming in that day) which head lead to Papyrus doing victory laps around Snowdin that morning with you and Frisk falling behind.

Having to keep an excited Frisk's mind off something was hard work. You don't know if you'd ever been so tired – Frisk would essentially vibrate like a Temmie from the time they woke up until they went to sleep.

This morning, you'd packed all of your stuff up and shoved Frisk out into Snowdin. The stuff that they'd ordered/found/whatever (which Papyrus and Sans both wanted to keep secret) hadn't arrived yet so frolicking in the snow it was.

" _Today's the day!_ " You think Frisk viewed this change as true forgiveness. Sans, the one person who'd seen it all with them, was welcoming them into his home for good.

"Unless we get thrown out because you can't stop fidgeting," you wink at Frisk.

" _U_ _gh, you're even acting him now. Maybe Papyrus will throw you both out instead and I'll get my own room._ "

"I hope you know that you'd get Sans' old room if that happened. I don't think Papyrus knows how to disassemble the tornado."

Frisk giggles, their eyes bright and happy. " _I'd keep finding socks for weeks. Why does he like socks so much?_ "

"You know, I really have no idea. If I was Sans, I'd have a pun for that."

You feel Sans 'blip' into being nearby. That's weird, he said he had to work this morning.

" _You two make a good pair._ "

"Did you just make a sock pun?" Their smile gets even bigger – you love seeing them this happy. "Aren't you proud Sans? I'm proud."

When you look at Sans, he's not smiling and the whites of his eyes are small. Shit.

"the three of us need to talk."

" _Sans? What's going on?_ " Frisk leans toward you, something they still do when Sans is upset.

"'m not mad. we just need to talk somewhere private."

"Sans," you say, "the forest is empty. What is-"

"no, it's not. c'mon, we're going to waterfall." He wraps his arm around your waist as Frisk (to your complete surprise) reaches for Sans' other hand. This does make a real smile appear on the skeleton's skull for a split second.

You watch him squeeze Frisk's smaller hand with a low "close your eyes" directed at them. Just like that you feel the pull of the void, that sudden feeling of air having more substance and you stop.

Frisk sputters for air (they hadn't taken to the void quite like you) and you shiver.

"Well, this isn't Waterfall," you try and quip.

"nope, sorry 'bout that. i didn't want anyone to know where we were going. frisk, have you seen anything strange lately?"

Frisk startles at their name, but shakes their head after a second of thinking. " _No and I've been looking! There's nothing going on._ "

"what about you?" His eyes meet yours now – no accusations, only concern.

You think. "Nothing that I haven't shared. Why?"

Sans throws his head back for a second and closes his eyes. "so, uh, where should i start?"

" _Sans?_ "

"well, the other day tori made it quite clear to me that she was pissed off, right?" Like you could forget. She hadn't meant to, but she'd hit Sans where it hurt - bad. It didn't sound like Tori, not really, but if she'd lost a romantic interest and an adopted child so soon after each other... You kind of get it. Doesn't make it right, but you get it. You and Frisk both nod.

"so what if i told you that neither one of us actually talked to tori, kid?" What? How was that possible? Frisk makes a choked sound that you think was supposed to be a word, but Sans keeps talking. "i went to the door this morning, 'cause it's still good for knock-knock jokes, and she was there like nothing happened. i asked what changed and she..." He shakes his head.

"she asked me if my skull was broken," he stops to give a humorless chuckle. "if i'd had too much to drink last night since she hasn't been by in almost a month. 01 and 02 had been dropping into the ruins every few days at random times so she couldn't risk trying to speak to any of us. said they told her they were on an errand from asgore himself."

" _So she isn't mad -_ "

"nope. had to fill her in, but she's happy for you. for us even." He pulls you closer to him and, once you lean into his exposed neck, you feel how scared he is. Sans is spooked. "something big is happening. something weird. can't believe i'm saying this, but frisk... make sure you're saving often."

" _I promise I will._ "

"and neither of you go anywhere alone. always have someone else with you, preferably a monster too. be on your guard at all times. " When both you and Frisk agree, he yanks you both even closer and into a hug.

Frisk lets him for a full two minutes before they get bored. " _So since we're here... Can I ride one?_ "

"ride a wha-" Sans loosens his grip on you both as he laughs. Then tension in the area breaks just a bit with that question and laugh. Mirth shines in Sans' sockets. "ride a blaster? i dunno, you'll have to ask them."

Frisk is grinning as they carefully shift to hold onto Sans' hips, head pressed directly onto his ribs. " _Can I ask them?_ "

"since we're here," he says as he snaps the fingers of his left hand. Just like that, eight giant void-dwelling skulls appear, zeroed in on you guys by his snap.

Icarus is the one that lets Frisk onto it's muzzle, purring happily at the petting they get in return.

"what do you feel in here?"

"Huh?"

"i know we stopped the experiments and tests on the necklace considering the void is in your SOUL, but... what do you feel in here?"

There was no point in experimenting on the void-laden Delta Rune around your neck since the void was in your very SOUL, so the two of you had agreed that further testing was pointless. What did you feel once you were in here?

You close your eyes and concentrate (trying -and failing- to not worry about Frisk on the Gaster Blaster or whatever was impersonating Toriel) on the just being here. What do you feel?

"I feel like..." You bite your lip. "I feel like I'm forgetting something that I should remember."

When you open your eyes, Sans looks more worried than before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buckle up, it's gonna get crazy here shortly :) 
> 
> I think one more fluff-ish chapter, a time-skip, and then ~~shit's gonna hit the fan~~ we're gonna meet Asgore!


	62. Home

" _That was fun!_ " Frisk laughs as the three of you touch down at the same spot that you'd vanished from thirty minutes ago.

"never thought that i'd ever see someone riding a blaster."

" _You're just jealous that you didn't think of it first!_ "

Sans lets out a loud snicker as he ruffles their hair. "ya got me. you two feel like helping me slack off until the end of my shift?"

"You were supposed to be working and you just vanish? Seriously?"

"you guys are more important," he shrugs. "plus undyne is probably still, uh, eating breas- breakfast with alphys."

You shoot Sans a quick glare (breastfast – you know EXACTLY where he was going before he cut himself off), but can't keep the grin off your face because it would have been a good one. "Sure, just to make sure that you actually work for once."

To the outsider, the three of you probably give the impression that nothing is wrong as you walk back towards his sentry station. Frisk has a spring in their step, bouncing through the snow, their relief in Tori not being angry at them palpable. They don't get too far away though, you notice. They keep glancing back at you and Sans, who appears to be relaxed.

The death grip he has on your hand tells an entirely different story.

"Sans, you're gonna break my hand," you whisper. "Loosen up, will ya?"

"huh? oh shit, my bad." He doesn't drop your hand, but he does relax his grip some. It's still tighter than it needed to be, but not painful.

"Know of any monsters that can mimic others?"

"not off the top of my head. i'm gonna ask around, but... something feels-"

"Wrong," you finish for him. "I agree with you. There's something big going on right under our noses. Well, you don't have a nose so under your nasal cavity."

Sans gives a low chuckle and throws you a grin. "i needed that, thanks."

" _Could you two walk any slower?_ "

Without even glancing at Sans, you pretend to swoon and he catches you, pulling you into his strangely strong arms. "uh-oh, she's fainted. guess i need to carry her the rest of the way."

Frisk gives a garbled scream of annoyance as you and Sans break out into giggles.

 

* * *

 

 

Bag tossed over your shoulder, you shove Frisk's collection of borrowed books into their arms.

" _Sans can you carry-_ "

"No, he can't. You're the one that never took them back, so you can carry them all." Frisk doesn't say anything in your head, but you can hear muttered grumblings under their breath. "Sans, can you make sure I didn't miss anything?"

Sans grins from the doorframe. "why? we're just a _hop_ and a skip away. it'd be good for bunny to get out of here sometimes."

"That one was weak Sans. But I'd really like to not leave all sorts of crap lying around since there's no way that we didn't forget something." Rather than looking offended, he smiles even brighter as he pushes himself off the frame before stepping into the room. He actually does look around (lazily using his magic, but that might be jealousy talking) and manages to find two action figures that you missed.

"i'll carry these for you," he gives Frisk a cheeky grin and they blow a raspberry at him. When they go down the stairs, you see a light glimmer of blue around their stack of books. You give Sans a knowing look, not daring to say anything, and he shrugs. "what?"

"You're adorable."

"heh, whatever. now get moving," he gives you a playful push forward.

Once you're downstairs, you're immediately wrapped in a furry hug.

"I'm going to miss you both! I'm so happy for you, but I'm going to miss you!" Bunny gives a dramatic sniffle as she drops you and wraps her arms around Frisk, placing their books on the ground. "You're not allowed to be strangers! You need to make sure that you drop in and say hi."

" _Bunny, we're only moving to the other side of the tree!_ " Frisk makes a sound of surprise when she lifts them.

"I know that, silly! But across town is so much further than upstairs!" She smiles at you and quickly blows a raspberry on Frisk's cheek before she drops them. "Sans, you take care of these two! If anyone harms a hair on their head... I'll break your skull, you hear?"

Sans sockets are wide, that easy going grin of his twitches for a second in what you think is surprise, before he relaxes. "you'll have to get in line i'm afraid. paps would probably build a mantle to put my head on."

After another minute, you wave goodbye before you set out across town. Well, two of you do. Sans instantly shortcuts to his front door and waits. Once you both are there, nope, he still doesn't move.

" _Are you going to let us in?_ " Sans just gives Frisk a bigger grin.

"maybe. what's the codeword?"

" _Please?_ "

"eh, that's a boring one."

" _You're a stupid doo-doo butt?_ " Oh man. You need to hear the story behind that one.

Sans snorts, tossing his head back to laugh. "nope, that was the one to my room."

"How about it's freaking cold out and humans can get sick in the cold?"

Sans winks at you playfully, hands going into his pockets. "my bad. the codeword doesn't exist anymore, i was just _ribbin_ ' ya." He pulls his hand out, two keys in his palm. "you guys both get keys to the kingdom now."

He opens the door and gesture you both in. Aw, they had gotten a new couch! Papyrus is currently lounging on it, but he's able to completely sprawl out on it. It's the same green as before. There's a second end table now too.

Papyrus snaps up. "FRIENDS! WELCOME HOME!"

"You guys are to much," you mumble. Frisk seems to be speechless as they drop the books – Sans' magic holds them in place though- as they quickly hug Sans (his face goes a light blue at the sudden hug) before they scramble over to hug Papyrus.

Sans wraps an arm around your shoulders and you smile over at him. His blue eye meets yours –holy shit, Frisk had hugged Sans while he was actively using magic. That was big.

"so paps, you gonna show the kid your domain?"

"OUR DOMAIN! FRISK, ARE YOU READY?"

" _Yesyesyesyesyes!_ " They go a light pink color. " _Um, I mean yes!_ "

You grin as the two the bound of the stairs. "want to see it too?"

"Sure thing. I can't wait to see what you guys decided on."

" _IT'S SO COOL! OH MY GOD! PAPS YOU'RE AMAZING!_ "

Sans lets go of you to grab the books and together, you two head up to the room on the left. Oh wow – you have to swallow a laugh. Bunkbeds. Oh man. If someone other than you so much as thinks 'there's so much room for activities' you will lose your shit.

Near the computer, there's a decent size dresser now too. Well, at least there's space for Frisk's clothes. Frisk is jumping around, climbing up to the top bunk and surveying their new space while Papyrus watches their reaction with pride.

"c'mon, come check out our room," Sans whispers into your ear.

"I know what our room looks like," you smile over at him.

"i changed some things. it didn't feel right not making it 'ours',

He drops the books by the door before be grabs your wrist, gently tugging you away from the adorable sight in front of you. He opens his door (for once, you note, it's not locked) and looks shyly at you.

"go ahead."

You step in and it takes your breath away. Holy shit, the skeleton had cleaned it. There's a bigger bed in the corner now –probably only a full-sized, but not a fucking twin bed- that even had a frame. His sock collection was all in one corner and he'd replaced his smaller dresser with a normal sized one.

"No trash tornado?"

"eh, gotta grow up some day i suppose."

"Boo," you look back at your blushing boyfriend. "You even cleaned. Pinch me, I must be dreaming."

"you like it?"

"Like it? I love it." You press a kiss to his cheekbone. "I'm home."

 

* * *

 

Sans was, and still is, extra snuggly all through the night and into the next morning. Knowing him, he's probably waiting for a reset to happen now that he's happy. You go to sleep with a skeleton wrapped around you and wake up in almost the same position.

When you try and get up, your lovable skeletal cage just tightens.

"'ive more minutes..."

"Sans." Nothing. You nudge him – still nothing. "Sans, the human needs to pee."

"too bad," he says, voice muffled by a pillow. "the human can wait."

"No, I can't." You feel a deep breath from behind you (was he smelling you?) before he finally lets go. "Want me to fix you some coffee or are you going back to sleep?"

"coffee. i have to work in a bit. thanks."

Within ten minutes, you're downstairs with Papyrus in the kitchen. Frisk has been sent upstairs to shower and Sans has just appeared on the counter top.

"Paps do you need some – goddammit Sans!" You jump, nearly dropping the pot of coffee in your hands.

"NO, I HAVE MY OWN SANS." Sans, at that, cracks up. After a second of recovering from him just appearing, you do too. "SEE? I CAN DO HUMOR!"

"I know Paps," you wipe a tear from your eye with your free hand. "It's just unexpected from anyone first thing in the morning. Holy shit. Anyway, help. Do you need some help?"

"NO, BUT COMPANY WILL BE NICE!" You quickly pour Sans a mug that he happily accepts.

"i can't paps, but it's a short day. i'll be back around noon." Papyrus nods, and in one fluid motion opens the fridge and tosses something towards Sans. Sans' eye flashes blue as he 'catches' the... the sandwich bag midair. It's such a simple display of magic but is still somehow still so cool.

"see ya guys later," he gives you a wink and blows you a kiss before he's gone.

"Do you like coffee paps?"

"NEVER HAD ANY."

Whoa, what? You get to work on a cup for him, but do add some milk to his to soften the blow. You take a sip of yours at the same time that he takes a sip of his. YUM.

"STRANGE YET," he takes another sip. "GOOD."

"So I have a question before Frisk gets out of the shower. Are you really okay with sharing a room with them? I know you aren't a kid so I don't know -"

"I'm more than fine with it!" Papyrus smiles over at you, showing you the truth in his words. "I always wanted a little sibling, but dad always said -"

Papyrus freezes and you see pure pain on his face. "Papyrus?"

"Dad always said two disappointments were enough..."

Your SOUL aches for him. Fucking Gaster. How could you say those words to your kids? To Sans? To Papyrus?

"Can I tell you something I've learned since basically adopting Frisk?" You don't know if it's what he needs to hear, but it's worth a shot. "Having a kid to look after means that you get to do things your way. You don't have to do what your parents did to you with them. You're Frisk's uncle – you get your little sibling AND someone that you'll never tell that they're a disapointment."

You take a sip of your coffee and he doesn't say anything, just keeps working on whatever breakfast is. "Er, did that make sense? I don't know if that made sense, it's early and I'm only on cup number one."

"I'm Frisk's uncle?" Did you shock the tall skeleton?

"I think that's what they consider you, but you'll have to ask them. That's what I consider you."

"I'M GOING TO BE THE BEST UNCLE EVER!" You laugh and clap your hands together. There he is!

 


	63. The Personal Notes of the Royal Scientist

**Personal Notes of Dr. Alphys, 2nd Royal Scientist**  

***Not Official Findings from Official Study***

**SO IT'S PRIVATE!**

 

**Entry 1 -**  

Today, the human ---- surprised me at the lab. She went to see Undyne about talking to me! _Me!_  I can't believe how brave she is! Frisk, the child, was left in Waterfall. I admire her dedication to their safety.  ----'s SOUL is like nothing I've ever seen! All of the traits are present in one SOUL. The crack is incredibly concerning, however I think she's onto something. With her being an adult, maybe her SOUL is stronger. 

At her insistence, I decided to forgo pre-testing. Mettaton is sworn to secrecy, but has agreed to help. Her SOUL is more resilient than it looks – it can take a direct blow. 

 

**Entry 2-**

I have a second experiment to run now as well. Frisk has a set trait – determination. Do human SOULs naturally shift into a multi-colored one over the years? Or is it just a different kind of SOUL? I hate the feeling that we may be studying a 'dead' science. Maybe all SOULs are different.

 

**Entry 3-**  

Even after showing them my lab and the amalgamates, neither of them have any fear of working with me. I don't know if I'm thankful for that or scared for them.

 

**Entry 5-**

\----'s SOUL seems to shift based on mood. Depending on the stimulus, it shifts. When Frisk's safety is mention, it becomes more red. When talking about freeing us, it becomes more yellow. It seems that our color theory may be correct afterall. 

 

**Entry 15-**  

Mettaton seems to think that these experiments are pointless, but I disagree! With six SOULs already in our possession, why not to try to break the barrier without death? I told him that if he wants his body finished than he needs to be nice.  

No shift in Frisk's SOUL yet. 

 

**Entry 35-**   

So I have another side experiment I think, but this one is private and not to be officially studied. ---- and Sans. A monster and a human in a relationship – a serious one at that. ---- mentioned that Sans wanted to see her SOUL, but that the crack in it makes her self-conscious. I can't blame her, but I really want to know what happens if they do share SOULs.   

On the other hand, I wish that Sans wouldn't. He's been through so much in the past year... If ---- dies...  I know my friend is gone, but if he loses another loved one, I don't think he'll ever come back from it. 

 

**Entry 47-**   

I'm starting to run out of ideas. I'm mostly observing now. I don't think Undyne wants to kill ---- now either, so it's easy to just watch now. I don't have to report my data to her anymore. I don't think Undyne wants to know either.  

 

**Entry 63-**   

I CAN'T BELIEVE METTATON.  

After everything that I've done for him, he tried to KILL both ---- and Frisk! Sans was furious and I can't blame him. For a second, I thought he was going to completely destroy Mettaton's newer body. 

For a second, I wished he would. God, I'm terrible. 

Anyway, this isn't a personal diary.  

\----'s SOUL was duller this morning from her fight with Sans, but I have a feeling it will be brighter the next time I see her. I'm sad that we didn't get our anime date though. 

 

**Entry 64-**  

I can't believe that they showed up today, let alone that they both forgave Mettaton. ----'s SOUL is brighter today already, but Frisk's... ---- didn't see it, but Frisk's SOUL was paler than usual. It's more pink than red. I won't mention it unless it doesn't go back, I don't want to worry ----.  

She's going to show Sans her SOUL soon – I gave them use of the room that Mettaton set aside just for me. I'm rooting for them. Seeing Sans so happy... He deserves this. 

How can I be responsible for ----'s death with how happy she makes Sans?  

 

**Entry 65-**  

Frisk's SOUL is a darker red today. Thank god, I was worried. Stress maybe?

Hmm, I'll stress test them next week. 

 

**Entry 70-**

Holyshit. Her and Sans are soulmates. Seeing them together over dinner tonight... I believe it. Oh god, how can I be apart of this anymore? There's so much conflicting in me!  

  * She can break the barrier. She's WILLING to die to free us all. I can't let an entire people be trapped for my own curiosity.
  * Her SOUL is unique, I want to keep studying her.
  * A human and a monster are soulmates. The first reported case of actual soulmates, complete with SOULs calling out to each other, since we were on the surface. 
  * And...Sans and I were friends. Are friends? He seemed really sorry for not reaching out...



 

**Entry 72-**  

Sans is back! Well, kind of. For her, not me, and that's fine! He's back here! Showing him what I've done was terrifying, but he got it. Of course he did, I feel stupid even writing that.

He's Gaster's son. Of course he gets - 

Did I really just...?  

I didn't tell him about the flower experiment though. I doubt he would have understood that - he always hated the DT focused ones that Gaster designed for some reason.

\----'s SOUL showed no signs of sharing its bond to Sans to me, even when he was in the room. Sans could barely take his eyes off of her. He took the notes, told me he'd come up with some ideas the next time he came in. 

 

**Entry 74-**

I finally did the stress test. No change in either of their SOULs. 

Then what happened with Frisk's SOUL that day? Maybe it was a more emotional than physical reaction?  

 

**Entry 97-**  

Frisk's SOUL is still the same red as it was when they started.  

\-----'s crack is the same.  

 

**Entry 124-**  

For a brief second, when I pulled out ----'s SOUL today I sensed something else. It was weird. Maybe I'm projecting from getting involved with Undyne. I... I don't know. It was so familiar though. 

 

**Entry 133-**  

I think even ---- is picking up on the fact that I'm running out of ideas.  

 

**Entry 150-**

I think... I think it's time to test some of my earlier ideas. 

I think it's time to take ---- to the barrier. 

To tell Asgore about her... 

 

* * *

_ I think it's time   _

 

_ to make myself known _

 

__

 

_ Again.  _

__

 

 

_ I'm strong enough now.  _

 

 

_ I have enough control  _

 

 

 

_ of time itself now.  _

 

 

_ So.  _

 

 

_ Chara, _

 

 

_ Are you ready to play again? _

 

_ Who should I  _

 

 

 

 

_ Say hello to first? _

 

 


	64. The Problem with Perfection...

Time is such an interesting thing. It can fly, it can hold still, and it can apparently reset too. Most impressively though, is it's ability to pass by almost unnoticed. One day you're hiking up a mountain and then you blink (and die, but mostly blink) and it's been nine months since you fell down the mountain and woke up in the underground by yourself. Six months since you woke up (after dying) with a child in your arms.

About five months from your first date with a skeleton monster.

Three months since you shared your broken SOUL with said skeleton monster.

Around two months since you moved in with him.

Time is so strange. If you hadn't been so early to the meeting spot nine months ago... If you hadn't been in that exact place at that exact time... You wouldn't be as happy as you are now. You now have to stop and actually think about how unfufilled your life on the surface was. The crack in your SOUL was a small price to pay for the happiness you've found.

You have friends. You have a family. You have a soulmate.

You haven't thought about your abusive ex in... how long now? God, you don't even know.

You also have a responsibility to free the monsters.

"where'd you go?" Sans voice is husky and low in your ear.

"Away from here," you whisper back. He chuckles behind you and squeezes you tighter. You're between your boyfriend's legs on the floor – it's movie night at Alphys' place and everyone is here watching Mettaton's latest movie. It's his first in his newer body and, dear god, it wasn't much better than his first few movies. You'd been watching him get showered in rose petals for a good five minutes now.

Undyne keeps nodding off on Alphys shoulder (much to Mettaton's displeasure) and Alphys looks like she's paying attention although her eyes are kind of glassy. Frisk, Papyrus, and Mettaton himself are the only three that seem to actually be paying attention to the movie, if Sans fingers skirting up your shirt say anything about where his mind is.

"There's other people here."

"heh, so what? alph and undyne are even more obnoxious than we are." You glance over at the two of them and – oh.

"Sans, why are you watching them close enough to notice that?" Apparently the glassy eyes weren't from boredom.

"had to make sure that they wouldn't notice us. or if they do, that i have blackmail too." You see his smirk out of the corner of your eye. "relax, mettaton's fanclub is actually into this movie."

They are – the other three are much closer to the giant screen and seem to be debating something about the movie. You can't hear what, but you seriously hope that Frisk is telling Mettaton that in the human world, scenes like this didn't make it into blockbuster hits. His fingers skim higher under your shirt and you elbow him.

"If you don't stop, I'll start on you right now." Sans' hands immediately descend back to your waist again.

The past two months have been a learning experience for you both. Four people in a two bedroom house was way too much some days, but most of the time... It was perfect. There were growing pains involved with moving in with any partner (soulmates were no exception), but the two of you had found your way through it easily.

The biggest issue was space.

With all of you 'activities' consolidating, you had all sorts of free time. Sans still worked his three jobs (even though his hotdog stand was literally just extra income whenever he felt like doing it) along with training and helping at the lab. It turns out that Sans was an introvert so, after one minor blow up from the overcrowded skeleton, you'd started working a few nights a week at Grillby's.

You had a 'real' job and Sans got his space. There, problem solved! The other big fight had been money related. Sans and Papyrus had insisted that you didn't need to pay them to stay with them. That had been a longer one and a nastier one. With Papyrus actually getting hired onto the Royal Guard there was no real financial need in their house anymore.

After a good two weeks of tension, it was decided that you would pay for the groceries and save up to buy a bigger place. (Or, as Papyrus had so elegantly put it 'WHEN YOU BOND AND GIVE ME MORE NIECES AND NEPHEWS WE WILL NEED MORE SPACE!'. Oh how part of you, and from the look of it, Sans too had died that day).

Sans nuzzles you, drawing you back to the present. "babe, stop letting your mind wander. don't make me watch this alone. please?"

"Sorry," you give a low giggle. "You could always join the fanclub."

He snorts out a laugh that he turns into a cough. "um. no thanks. i don't want to witness that up close." In a turn of events that neither of you had seen coming, Papyrus had met Mettaton and Mettaton had liked the spunky skeleton monster. At the very least, they were great friends. At the most, well... Frisk ships it, you're neutral, and Sans doesn't.

You lean more of your weight back onto Sans and he makes a happy sound in his throat as he snuggles into your neck. Everything was going so close to perfect. Alphys and Undyne were just as disgustingly in love as you and Sans, Tori seemed happier again, Frisk seems to be moving on if their lack of nightmares recently was any indication (after Sans had said "i don't even recognize you kid" one day, Frisk had changed their mind about the haircut so they even looked older to top it off) Papyrus was bursting with life nowadays, and Mettaton was now much more tolerable.

It's a shame that you couldn't just relax and enjoy it. You're constantly on edge, looking around corners, scared of your own shadow. Flowey's threat is never far from your mind. Frisk has managed to relax some, but not you or Sans. You're both waiting for him to strike.

Lets not forget the weird sinister voice that you hadn't heard since that day in the lab either.

"relax, 'm on guard. stop thinking 'bout it for once."

"Hypocrite." You feel his grin widen at your whispered reprimand. "Like you ever stop thinking about it either."

"can't help it. i'm good at worrying. i've had extra three years of practice that only me, you, grillby, and the kid know about it." Sans yawns before he speaks at a normal volume again. "hey mettaton, what in _carnation_ were you thinking with this one? rose petals for ten minutes?"

Mettaton glares back at the two of you –well, mostly at Sans who’s hiding in your neck- before he meets your gaze and very dramatically rolls those neon pink iris skyward. Oh yeah, that was a thing now too. Mettaton and you were friends now to Sans' great displeasure. After reconnecting with Blooky, the two of you had actually formed a real friendship over the past two months or so. You aren't over dying, but it's the (pink) elephant in the room that neither of you talk about. You give Mettaton a small smile as you lightly swat one of Sans' femurs so he'll look away.

"Be nice Sans." Sans gives a low growl into your neck before he kisses it. "Again," you mumble, "Be nice Sans."

"hmm... how about no." His fingers dip under your bra somehow and you have to fight yourself really hard to keep the giggles down. No matter what you say to him, this... This right here is perfect. This should never change.

 

***************

 

Sans knows he's pushing his luck tonight. Well all the time really, but tonight in particular. He's worried, stressed beyond belief that the stupid fucking weed won't strike. He's seen flashes of him –and knows you have too-, but before Sans can wipe the little fucker from existence there's a yellow blur and he's gone.

So tonight he's distracting himself from that by testing his limits with you. With his soulm – ah, fuck it, his mate. For all intents and purposes, that's what you were to him. He may not have bonded with you yet, but you're _his_. The two of you are leaning against the back wall separated by several pillows and blankets from the other pair of lovers, the 'fanclub' is basically sitting on the monitor and he really wants to know what he can get away with.

No, you can't touch him, that's not fair. His bones are so much more sensitive than your skin, he doesn't know how to be discreet when you touch him. He'd give the two of you away the second your fingers brush against any part of his body not covered by his shorts or a t-shirt and that would be no fun at all.

You're trying not to laugh as he accidentally tickles you and he hears that sudden rush of air when his hands sneak under your bra and hit tissue. He glances over and, no, Undyne and Alphys are still focused on themselves. Good.

"Sans." God, he loves it when you say his name.

"hmm?" He feels your fingers start to run up his leg, the ball of anticipation starts to build, and the lights cut on and he can't help the annoyed hiss he makes when he has to move his hands down to less sinful territory. The movies over and when he looks forward again, Mettaton is smirking at the back wall.

He looks over at the ball of limbs known as 'Alphyne' and has to swallow back his own laugh. They'd all been busted by the robot apparently. The girls were all embarrassed, but him? Nah. 

"It's getting late and I have an early morning shoot. Thank you all for paying such close attention to my movie." The sarcasm doesn't register to Frisk or Papyrus, but he feels you hang your head in shame.

Psh, the only shame was that movie. Ok, so that's not entirely true, Mettaton's acting is better. But the flowers over his body thing had to go. How many times could one monster be showered in flower petals anyhow?

"OH, LET ME ESCORT YOU BACK TO THE RESORT!"

"Oh, Papy my beauty, you don't need to do that." No Papyrus, you don't need to do that. Listen to the robot.

"I INSIST!" Sans feels his sockets narrow. Papyrus doesn't like the void and he refuses to show anyone else the void if he can help it. So walking it is.

"i'll come too. what, don't look at me like that. the last time you went to the resort by yourself you came home with a month's worth of mettaton steaks." Before he even finishes talking, Sans is kicking himself. Fuck, you and Frisk...

"Yeah, we're still working through all of them," you're getting up and he doesn't miss the very pointed glare that you give him away from everyone else's eyes. "But Frisk and I'll hitch a ride with River."

He gives you what he hopes is an abashed smile even though he has zero shame for what he's about to do. He seems to remember a time when Papyrus called at an inopportune time.

Just call him the Great Cockblock Sans.

 

* * *

 

"You should be ashamed of yourself."

Sans nearly jumps out of his bones when he walks into the room that he shares with you. The lights are off and you're in bed, but clearly not asleep. He doesn't say anything as he strips down to his shorts, leaving a trail of clothes to the bed.

"Papyrus was nothing but supportive of us. The least we can do is return the favor. Not to mention your brother is a grown man."

Sans sighs as he crawls into bed with you. "i'd agree with you if it was anyone else in the underground babe. literally anyone else. even that bird in waterfall."

"Liar," you purr as you wrap yourself around him. Good, you aren't actually mad at him. "You'd be this protective of him no matter who was interested in him."

You aren't wrong. "how are you fine with this? that calculator killed you."

" _A_ calculator did that. This Mettaton was just doing what he thought was right and is a better man. Er, monster. Ghost? A better something."

"you're right."

"I'm sorry, can you run that by me again? I think I'm hearing things."

He chuckles, but plays along. "you're right. i'll take it down a notch." He breaks free from your grip, rolling on top of you and pins you by your wrists into place. "but only one. now where we again?"

When you giggle and kiss him, his SOUL soars. The only thing that could make this better is if he could feel your SOUL as easily as he could feel his own. Everything in time, Sans. For the first time in three years - no, more than three years. For the first time in more than three years, time is something he feels like he has. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that the plot is back, I'm re-inspired!


	65. ...Is That It Doesn't Exist

How many nights have you dreamt of the barrier now? It's almost worse than the void. For whatever reason, you're constantly here now. Sitting at the edge of the barrier. You thought it'd be invisible for some reason. Not a color changing doorway that you can see the flirtation of the outside through.

No wonder Chara lost their mind watching it.

" _Hey, rude much?_ " Speak of the devil and they shall come. " _It wasn't just me that lost my mind. Asriel too._ "

Chara sits next to you, dark circles under their eyes. They've started to look more tired recently, like they haven't been resting. Do the dead need to rest? You see the child, not the demon at this moment. You won't make the mistake of thinking that Chara is just a child again.

"I don't see Asriel fucking with time and killing his parents." There's a small snort and, of all things, the child breaks down in hysterical laughter.

Once they calm down a tiny bit, they look over at you, and crack up again. " _You just aren't looking in the right places then._ " Whoa, what? You ask and they just laugh even harder. " _Funnily enough, I really like you now. I almost hope you figure it out soon._ "

"Figure what out?"

" _That would be telling, wouldn't it?_ " Their giggles finally taper, red eyes bright with mirth for a change. " _I can give you a hint though. You've met my brother in both timelines._ "

"I saw the videos in last timeline, but I haven't met any dead people. Well, besides you." Chara doesn't say anything. "Hey... um. Why can't I remember any of my dreams since you killed me?"

" _I can't really say. I'm not allowed._ " Chara sighs, the black tar like substance beginning to leak from the corners of their eyes and mouth. It's sort of like a clown mask in a way. " _You have to want to remember. Really want to remember._ "

"I do!"

" _No, you don't. If you did, you'd remember already and we wouldn't be here. Besides, you have to be dreaming to have dreams to remember._ "

Chara doesn't say anything more and the two of you just stare at the barrier.

 

* * *

 

 "Sans, where's my phone?"

"i dunno. i just tossed it when it went off in the middle..of the... what's so funny?"

You're cracking up, looking for clothes that somewhat match and your phone. It takes you a full two minutes before you can form words again. "I'm sorry," you snicker again at the sight of Sans looking so lost while he watches you from the bed. Alright ----, try again. "I'm sorry. It's just... this is my life now. I love it and wouldn't change it for anything, but... I'm looking for my phone, which for all I know is in the void, because my monster boyfriend-slash-soulmate person got annoyed that it got a text."

Sans sticks that blue tongue of his out at you. "it got a text at like three in the morning."

"Sans, you sleep like the dead." Sans laughs from the bed at your joke. "No seriously, how did one chime wake you up and piss you off enough to throw my phone?"

He shrugs, still laughing, but does at least flare his magic enough to presumably look for your phone. "got it." He pulls your phone out of the newer trash tornado (turns out he wasn't quite ready to grow up completely yet). "it was alphys. huh, she wants the three of us there today."

"Well, can you?" You're mostly dressed when Sans grabs you –holyfuckingshit when had he gotten out of bed- and tosses you back onto the bed.

"yup. although i'd much rather spend today in bed with -"

**Knock Knock**

" _Papyrus went to workout early and I'm bored. Are you two up?_ "

Sans sockets narrow and he holds a finger up against your lips, but nope. You yell out, telling Frisk that you're both up as you sit up on the bed. Sans scowls playfully at you, his plan for you clearly dead in the water. 

" _Ew,_ " Frisk makes a face at Sans who just makes a face back. The two of them really are adorable together.

"ew your face," Sans winks at Frisk as he slinks off to put a shirt on. "hate to break it to you string bean, but alphys wants all of us there today."

" _Really? I wonder if she has an idea that she wants to test._ " Frisk hops onto the bed next to you, hope in those brown orbs of theirs.

"hypothesis, kid. with science it's a hypothesis."

" _Ugh, hypothesis. Whatever. Does it matter what it's called?_ "

"yes? and god, not this stage again. i survived paps teenage years and now i get hit with this?" Sans makes a disgruntled face and Frisk laughs.

" _I bet I'll be taller than you soon._ " The thought of Frisk being taller than Sans any day soon may just be the funniest thing you've heard in a while.

"I hope not. That means that you'd be taller than me too and you have a few inches until that. Plus," you poke their side, "if you just shot up right now you'd be all gangly looking with your string bean-ness and shaggy hair."

"oh man. just imagine them being almost as tall as paps,"Sans gets that mischievous twinkle in his sockets that you love seeing. "is there something longer and leaner than a string bean? i'm trying to think of a good pun but i got nothing."

"I don't know. Helping you with puns? That's a tall request."

Frisk groans in your head even as they giggle and Sans snickers.

" _Is it time to go yet?_ "

"No, I bet she isn't even up yet." No, you aren't going to sneak up on Undyne and Alphys. They don't live together, at least not officially, but you're pretty sure that they haven't spent a night apart in at least a month. You and Sans have learned how to maneuver your relationship around Frisk. Well, mostly. You weren't going to spring Frisk on a new couple that didn't have to wear clothes if they weren't expecting company.

"aw, poor frisk. i can make it up to you. want french toast for breakfast?"

" _Ohmygod yes!_ " You narrow your eyes at Frisk. " _I mean yes please._ "

 

* * *

 

It's probably not a simple hypothesis. Alphys wouldn't have texted at drunk-text-only o'thirty if it was something that innocent. There's a tension in your gut, a nervous tingling in your SOUL that you can't shake off.

Sans seems to sense your fear since he hasn't stopped touching you since breakfast. Holding your hand, wrapping an arm around you, pressing his leg into yours... He'd cheekily mentioned that if the two of you had actually been bonded, he'd be able to soothe your SOUL himself.

Somedays, you swear that the monster forgets that he's the one that won't bond with you. Now he was the one stalling although you don't hold it against him at all. You're shaken from your thoughts by a small chime.

**Fireman: Stop it. Whatever is wrong, stop it. I can't eat, you're making me feel sick.**

**Fireman: But seriously – what's wrong? I'm used to sudden flashes of moods. Not this.**

You type quickly, Frisk getting dressed to go to the lab. You don't want them to worry if they don't need to. Within seconds of sending your response, you feel a warmth from a small spot within you begin to calm you down. You recognize the feeling. It's Grillby, playing with your bond that wasn't a real bond.

**Fireman: It's probably nothing.**

"what's up?"

"I'm apparently disturbing Grillby," you say.

"that bad, huh?" Sans sneaks up behind you, wrapping his arms around you. "it's-"

"I swear if you say 'it's going _tibia_ okay' I'm going to tell Papyrus that you liked the sequins in your food. That you miss them in your food from time to time and would like to be surprised. That they're a delicacy to you."

"jeeze, remind me to never piss you off. i was going to say that it'll be fine. there's nothing that we can't get through together." He's such a liar, he was not going to say that. Sans doesn't pass up any opportunities for a skeleton pun.

"I hope you're right." Sans presses a kiss to your shoulder before pulling back to a distance that won't make Frisk make gagging noises when they come down.

"'m always right." Frisk bounds down the stairs, finally dressed. You start to make sure that they'd actually brushed their hair (that was apparently something they'd forgotten how to do over the past three years) when you hear a small snicker. Oh no. "babe? it's going _tibia_ ok, i promise. don't look at me like that you two, it's a classic and the classics are always _humorous_."

"You're such a bonehead. I'm sleeping on the couch for the rest of forever. Unless Frisk has room for me, that is."

" _Nope. No bed hogs allowed._ "

"Who's a bed hog?" Frisk points at you. "That's rich coming from you."

"you're both bed hogs. " He winks at you both, fingers intertwining with yours. "ready to go?"

Five minutes later you're in front of the lab with Frisk and Sans, the nervous tension becoming a leaden ball in your gut. The Delta Rune gives a low warmth around your neck the second you touch down. You don't feel like you're in immediate danger...So why?

**Fireman: Relax. Deep breaths. Count to ten or whatever.**

"Somethings wrong." You can't keep it in. Luckily Frisk has run ahead into the lab, so Sans is the only one that hears you.

"what-" You grab is wrist, bringing his hand to the charm. "holy fuck. i can feel it."

"It's not as hot as it gets when somethings really wrong, but something's wrong Sans." He squeezes your hand and the panic subsides a bit.

"i'm right here. we're both ready." You nod your head and lead Sans into the lab.

 

* * *

 

Undyne and Alphys both look like they'd rather be anywhere than in a room with the three of you. This hurts you, but Frisk is even more hurt. When they usher you all downstairs, Frisk sticks to your other side like glue. No one says much as Alphys takes notes on the state of your SOULs.

" _Sis, why are they being so weird?_ " Their voice echoes in your skull. You discreetly give them a small smile and a shrug. You have no idea. You wish you did.

"S-s-so there's s-s-something I n-need to t-talk to you all about." Alphys is looking anywhere but at you guys.

"I kind of got that from the three in the morning text. What's up?" Alphys makes a small squeaking noise and looks to Undyne, who looks away. Whoa. They disagree on something.

"I want no part of this Alph. This is a bad idea." Undyne seems like she's been deflated today. She doesn't look as vibrant as normal...

"I...I...I'm all out of ideas." Just like that, your SOUL plummets. You know what this is. "There's a few things I want to test, but they c-c-can't be d-done in the l-l-lab."

" _So field trip?_ " There's so much false hope in their voice that it hurts. " _You said 'in the lab' so we're just going someplace else, right?"_

"S-something l-like t-t-that." She looks down at the floor and takes a visible deep breath. Then another. And another. When she looks up, there's tears in her eyes. "W-we n-need t-to... Th-that is I..."

She wipes her eyes with her claws. "I t-think we need to go to the b-barrier." This. This is why the Delta Rune 'woke up'.

"sounds good," Sans voice is low and carefully controlled. "who's distracting asgore for this?"

Alphys doesn't say anything at first, just shakes her head. Undyne bites her lower lip and that eye of hers is full of unspoken apologies. This is it, your time is up.

"n o. absolutely fucking not."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dundundun!


	66. Loose Ends

 

"absolutely fucking not. alph, are you insane? he'll kill her." Sans is furious. Furious isn't a strong enough word actually. You don't know a strong enough word for that tone he's taking.

"Sans," you try to grab his attention.

"he'll kill her if we can't break the barrier, if he even lets us try with the scientific shit. we won’t get a 'hey that sucks, try again tomorrow'."

"Sans," you try again.

"I k-know that's why w-we're going to t-t-talk to h-him first. G-get him interested in a p-p-potential w-way to break the b-barrier that doesn't involve d-d-death."

"and if he says no?"

Alphys doesn't answer. She doesn't have to, you know what happens then. Everyone in this room knows what happens if he says 'no'. Monsters will be free either way.

"When do we go?" Four heads whip over to you.

"----, punk...."

" _\----, no!_ "

"----, you can't. we'll find another way."

Alphys is the only one that doesn't say anything. What can she say? Sans is a scientist, but even with the notes he hasn't been on your 'case' since day one. He has bias too. Alphys does too, you suppose, but she isn't your soulmate. She isn't in love with you. If she says there's nothing else she can do in a lab, you believe her.

"We all knew this could happen. I told three of you that I would die if we couldn't break the barrier with me alive." You see the betrayal written all over Frisk. "Sorry, kiddo, need to know basis. I didn't want you to do something stupid." Your words just make them clench their fists.

"So you're giving up punk? Just like that?" Undyne crosses her arms as she stares you down.

"I'm not giving up. I'm just holding up my end of the deal. I don't want to die, but... Look, the longer we put this off the harder it's going to be." You gulp and try to summon some courage. "When is the meeting?"

"T-the day after t-t-tomorrow at noon."

At the least, you have a day and a half left alive. Having a deadline should make this scarier, make what's happening more 'real' to you, but it doesn't. "Is there anything left to test tomorrow or...?"

"N-no. T-take tomorrow to d-do w-whatever you want."

 

* * *

 

"babe-"

"No."

"you can't be serious about this."

"I am." You sigh. You feel ancient and tired, holding Frisk's hand as you follow Sans out of the lab. Frisk had willingly taken your hand, a sign that you think means that you were forgiven for not telling them about being willing to die, but Sans?

Sans is livid in front of you. He's moving oddly quickly for him. He'll get a short distance away before walking back towards the two of you and repeating the action. He's leading you toward the Riverperson since he's apparently too emotional to tap into the void."why? why are you just giving in like this?" Or he just wants more time to berate you.

"Sans," you throw as much annoyance into your voice as you can. You don't want to do this here.

"you don't get to 'sans' me right now. you're talking about getting yourself killed. i get a say in that." Frisk squeezes your hand when Sans whips around, the lights of his eyes gone. This isn't how you wanted to spend the last hours of your life, fighting with Sans.

"If you're going to be an ass, just leave me alone. It's not easy."

"you sure make it seem like it's easy." The lightless sockets narrow into a scowl at you, one that's a far cry from the playful one from this morning. There's a flash of this look on his face in that golden room again – no, stop, you're being dramatic now. Before you can retort, you're at the Riverperson.

"Tra la la," they greet you with a song and a small bow. "You're going to help free us all."

When you glance back for Sans, he's gone. Now you feel ancient, weary, and alone. Once the Riverperson is rushing back to Snowdin, you pull Frisk into your lap and just hold them.

 

* * *

 

You've been home for an hour and Frisk hasn't said a word since the lab. Papyrus isn't home yet and you have no idea where Sans is. You're both on the couch with the television on, but you aren't actually listening to it. Frisk has a faraway look on their face so you don't think they're listening either.

It's over. This is the end.

"Frisk? Can you do something for me?" Frisk is looking at the tv, but when they don't answer you know that they're actually staring into space. Maybe they didn't hear you.

" _I'm nine._ " You jump when they do finally speak. " _I'm nine years old. Frisk isn't my real name, but it's what my parents called me. It's one of the only things I can remember about them._ " Frisk crawls across the couch to sit next to you. No, not to sit next to you. They crawl halfway into your lap, keeping their legs on the couch next to you. They curl up small, resting their head under your chin.

" _You can't just leave! You can’t just decide to die!_ " They choke out a sob that makes your SOUL wince. " _I've always thought that everyone here was family, but this time they think I'm family too! You're family_."

At 'family' Frisk starts to cry. They keep trying to talk to you, but whatever level of concentration they need to do it must be too high. So you just hold them and, fine, you cry too.

"Frisk, honey, I need to do this." They shake their head quickly under your chin. "I do. There's still a chance that my SOUL will break the barrier with me alive, but even if it doesn't... I can't ask an entire civilization to stay underground when I can free them."

"So I have something I need to ask you to do Frisk. If I...If I don't make it. Don't reset. Don't even load. When the barrier breaks, no matter what Sans says or what you think, don't reset. Go live Frisk. Grow up, grow old. Go to school, go kiss boys or go kiss girls, be happy. Let me stay dead. Once you start to heal, make Paps and Sans live."

" _But I need you._ "

"No, you don't. You have an entire group of people that will be your family. That love you." You pull back just a bit and wait for Frisk to look at you. It takes them a few minutes until the sobs turn into sniffles. A few more minutes until the sniffles slow down and they wipe at their face before finally looking up at you. "If the worst happens, know that I love you and I'll miss you, but this time thing needs to stop. Can you promise me that you'll just let time pass?"

" _I... I will. If dad lets you try._ "

"Frisk." Oh man, you DO sound like a parent now. There's that same tone that your parents used with you – the hint of a warning to stop arguing.

" _No. I haven't saved since this morning and I won't save again until after everything's done. If dad lets you actually try, I won't load. If he just attacks, I'll load and we'll find another way to get the barrier._ "

"That's fair."

As much as you want to be the adult in the situation, to be in control... You can't pretend that you aren't relieved that Frisk will at least make sure you get to try at the barrier.

 

* * *

 

 

Sans still isn't home when it's time for you to go to work. Papyrus is, so you just quietly tell him that Frisk is having a rough day and ask him not to push them. With a quick mumbled, "not a word to Papyrus", you're out the door. Grillby's is busy and just the distraction you need.

" _So._ " That's how your best friend greets you now. 'So'. At least nowadays most of the regulars knew that you could somehow understand Grillby. When they ask how you know how to since it's rare, you just wiggle your fingers and go 'magic'. They all laugh at your little joke, but you think it'd be funnier if they knew you were a human.

The bar has been open for two hours at this point and there's a steady stream of patrons. It's not swamped, but it's not exactly a quiet night either. "Don't you need me to actually work?" Grillby points at the glasses under the bar – of course, dishwasher duty.

" _I do, but I need to know what happened today more._ "

"Later Grillbz, I promise."

" _Are you really going to tell me later or are you just trying to get out of it?_ "

"I'll tell you later. Really."

 

* * *

 

Grillby only needs you until ten tonight. Now that the dinner rush is over (still no Sans), there's only a handful of patrons left and none of them are at the bar. Grillby is consoling the poor guy that had been stood up on another date so it's just you behind the bar. After today, you could really use a stiff drink.

Since you're working still, you settle for a water and to stare at the clock. Fifteen minutes left until ten. For once, you're kind of dreading going home. Fighting with Sans again doesn't sound appealing, but going home to find him still gone sounds worse.

" _So?_ " You jump, glass of water halfway to your mouth, dropping it on the floor. Son of bitch!

"Fuck. Grillby. How does a crackling fire elemental sneak up on someone like that? Oh my god, make more noise please." Your poor heart struggles to settle down as you pick up the pieces of glass for Grillby to fix.

" _When someone isn't paying attention, that's how._ " You feel the embarrassed smile hit your face along with a small blush. Friends or not, you hated being caught zoning out at work. Mostly because of the fact that he didn't really need you there, but also because the nickname that zoning out earned you. " _Well Madam Sans, welcome back to the present. Now spill."_

"I'm out of time, Grillbz."

" _Out of time?_ " Grillby keeps his eyes on you, but uses his fire magic to remake the glass. You look away from him, out over the bar.

"The day after tomorrow I'm going to see Asgore."

There's a loud shattering sound next to you that makes everyone in the room look over at the two of you. Your face heats up even more and you look at your friend who's gawking at you. There's a second where you think you broke him before he coughs and makes a big show of putting the glass together a second time.

Once everyone looks away, he looks at you again. " _No._ "

"Not you too," you say more to yourself. Not another confrontation.

" _I've lost one person that I was bonded to and I don't intend to lose another one by them walking into death's embrace. What is wrong with you? Fight it!_ "

"I can't Grillby."

" _I swear if you say 'I promised'…_ "

"I did, but that's not the reason why. Don't you want to see the surface again?"

" _Of course I do. You can free us, I'm not fighting that. You can free us in.... how long do you humans live now? You can free us then, when you die of old age._ " Grillby stops then, thinking. " _I wonder how that bond would work..._ "

"Umm, bond?"

" _Nothing, doesn't matter right now. Anyway_ ," he keeps talking before you can ask again. " _Why are you giving up so easily?_ "

"There's something weird going on Grillby. I don't know how to explain it, but something keeps tipping Asgore off that there's humans here. If he finds Frisk first... If he finds them first, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

" _They aren't yours._ "

"They are now." You snap your mouth closed at that. Since when had Frisk been 'yours'?

" _I was hoping you'd admit it. Fine, we're not done yet, but go home. See you tomorrow night?_ "

"See you tomorrow, Grillbz."

Once outside, the snow instantly chills all the warmth that you'd felt from Grillby's. To go home or not to go home?

Not.

You still head to your left, but instead of heading home you head towards the Riverperson. Of course they're there already, waiting for you. When you approach them, they simple state your destination.

"Please."

 

* * *

 

It takes you a few minutes to reach your destination (damn Mettaton for moving it to the middle of nowhere), but when you put the umbrella over the statue's head it's instantly worth it. The soft melody begins to play, relaxing you. You take a few steps back before you just sit and stare at it.

Would Sans play this song on his trombone because of you? Would Grillby play it again for you? Would Frisk need to learn this because of you?

"What are you doing here?' The voice startles you, but you can't even muster up the umph to be afraid.

"Thinking. Hi Flowey." Your tone startles the flower monster that had been hiding at the base of the statue. The stupid smile drops and there's a look of intrigue on his face. "You here to kill me?"

"I was resting before you made so much noise, so no. It's tempting though."

"Resting here? Really? I guess it is quiet here," you chuckle at the look on his small face. He's looking at you like you're mad. Well, he's not wrong. "You don't need to though. I'm probably dying in less than three days."

"...And you're so calm about this because...?"

"You guys will all be free. You still going to be a murdering little shithead on the surface?"

"Ha! That's funny. 'Free'. Real hilarious." You feel the disbelief on your face. One for his sense of humor, but two for this being the longest conversation you've had with him since the very first time you met him. He takes pity on you apparently. "There is no 'free'. You'll die and Frisk will reset."

"I told them not to."

"I bet they will."

There's an uneasy silence between the two of you. You wait for the punchline, for him to strike... but he doesn't. When you look at him, really look at him, he looks so tired.

"What happened to you Fl-"

"Why did you come here? Of all the places in the underground to go, why this stupid statue?"

"It's...serene here in a morbid way. Peaceful. I can think and just be. Give this poor lonely state some company. The kid that died, that this statue honors, apparently they were the same age as Frisk." Flowey is staring at you, but for once you feel safe near him. Safe may be a stretch, but you don't feel like he'll hurt you. "Plus I may or may not be praying that he can keep his dad from killing me."

Flowey laughs and it's such a childlike and friendly sound that it's your turn to stare now. "It isn't da- Asgore that you need to worry about. At least, I don't think so. Don't you think it's a little too easy?"

"What is?"

"After all these years, all these loads and resets, that it only took you one time to destroy Chara? Doesn't that seem too easy? Too...Convenient?" He shakes his head, petals shaking along with him before he gives you a wink. "Be careful."

Then he's gone.

You stay there for another few minutes, thoughts spinning. Now that he's mentioned it... You agree with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters are BEASTS to write. I'm afraid of missing something since if I mess up certain pieces they'll be a pain to fix in part three.


	67. Misery Loves Company

"where were you?"  

For the second time tonight, you just about jump out of your skin. You'd quietly unlocked the front door and were in the process of carefully shutting it without making any noise when Sans speaks.  

"Fucking hell Sans. With the lights off and everything?" Waking up in the dark to Sans sleeping face was one thing, walking into a dark house to be greeted by said spooky skeleton was an entirely different one. He just glares at you in the dark. Three months ago even, this would have scared you into submission. Not anymore. You glare back and shoot him the finger for added insolence, carefully heading toward your room. 

Sans is right behind you, voice low. "i was worried. your phone was dead and grillbz said you finished at ten. it's almost midnight now." 

"Well if someone hadn't chucked my phone in the middle of the night..." You sigh as you open the door to your shared room. Is this the hill you really want to die on? No. "I'm sorry, I just needed some time for myself. I should have let someone know where I was going. I just didn't want to come home and fight with you." 

Sans follows you in and when you turn around, the anger on his skull is gone. "i don't want to fight either. i just don't get it. why are you so fine with dying?" 

"I'm not. I just... I want to protect Frisk. I want everyone I love to be free." Sans wraps his arms around you, you instantly relax, and the exhaustion rolls over you. What a day. When he lets go, you quickly strip and change into pajamas. You feel his eyes digging into you the entire time. "Sans?" 

He looks so sad instead of the usual desire that goes with the staring. "you take the inside tonight. i don't think i'll be sleeping much. i gotta lotta thinking to do."  

"Doesn't that hurt your empty skull?" You wink and he smiles up at you. You don't like this smile. It's worse than that grin he wears in public. It's so sad. 

"a bit. but i'll deal with it for you." 

You don't tell Sans about Flowey that night. He has enough on his mind without that. 

 

* * *

 

Your last day on earth is unremarkable. That probably isn't a bad thing, honestly. You wake up alone for the first time in... god, you don't even know. A long time. It's kind of cold honestly. You're so used to the furnace named Frisk or the tingly warmth that Sans emits (or some mornings, having both feelings on either side of you) that being alone is, well, lonely. Instead of complaining about it, you decide to revel in it and go back to sleep.  

The second time you wake up, you do roll out of bed. You're still alone, but it's not lonely now. You've been surrounded by people for so long that it just being you is nice. So you don't rush. You take your time getting ready for the day. Apparently your first time waking up had been super early since you're ready at out the door right past ten.  

You spend the day with Frisk. They'd been in the forest with Papyrus when you'd found them. Frisk had given you such a guilty look that you thought they'd told Papyrus what was going on, but no. Papyrus had just been thrilled to have you join them. Today's experiment (you've grown to realize that Paps was more like Sans than you could have ever imagined initially) was igloos. Lesser Dog tells you that you all fail that one.  

When the three of you make your way back to the house so that you can get ready for your final shift at Grillby's, Sans is waiting for you. He looks terrible. There are dark circles under his sockets that tell you that Sans hadn't slept a wink. Papyrus leaves to go see Undyne to talk about their meeting with the king tomorrow right before you have to make the short walk to Grillby's.  

"Promise me that you two won't do anything stupid while I'm gone," you say. The last thing you need is for them to hatch some scheme for tomorrow while you're gone. 

 

* * *

 

 

" _Go home -----._ "  

"Grillby, it's only nine. I've only been here for five hours."  

" _Believe it or not, I know how to tell time._ " Grillby crosses his arms across his chest and raises an eyebrow at you. Or the equivalent of an eyebrow. You just know that you can feel the sass coming off of him in waves. " _I've had you all evening. Frisk is probably asleep by now, yes?"_ You give him a low 'mhmm' as you keep working. " _Go to Sans. Don't fight me on this."_  

_"_ Grillbz, I just want it to be a normal night. I don't want to have to face -" 

" _It's not for you. It's for him."_ You make a face at your friend. _"I've...I've been where he is. Well, sort of. I didn't know the night before what they were going to do. I only had an hour or so. I can't imagine what it's... Go. Now. I'll see you in the morning."_  

"Grillby..." 

" _You think that I'm going to let you go without me? Please."_ You can't help the sniffle that comes out of you. You're going to miss him. 

It only takes you another five minutes or so to leave (waving goodbye to everyone tonight is painful) before you're out in the snow again. Tonight, you go straight home. Kind of anyway. You stand in front of the house for a good five minutes, just taking it in one last time. The Christmas lights that twinkle on the roof are so happy and you still don't know if they stay up year round due to Papy's enthusiasm or Sans' laziness.  

To your surprise, Sans is out on the deck. He's watching you, observing you like the scientist that he is. You hadn't noticed him at first since he was, well, as still as the dead. You cock your head at him and he reaches an arm out towards you. 

"Well Romeo, I think we got our roles reversed." Sans snickers before he vanishes. It's maybe a second later before you feel him reappear behind you. 

"sorry juliet. we didn't get them mixed up as you're _dying_ to prove." You say his name as he grabs you and pulls you backwards into the void. Well, that's a new feeling. You blink and you're up on the deck with him. 

"Holy shit. That was new." Sans shrugs as he leans onto the wooden railing. He still looks awful. "Sans, did you sleep at all last night? Or today?" 

"nope. probably won't tonight either."  

He looks so tired and lost. You're the one probably dying tomorrow and yet you're comforting him - you'd laugh if it was actually funny. You want to comfort Sans. You want to distract him. "So, uh, I've never been up here before. How do you even get out here from inside the house?" 

"magic." You give him a dirty look as you poke him in the ribcage. It works – he chuckles. It's not the happiest sounding laugh, but it is a laugh. "the previous owners of this place were bird monsters. They didn't need stairs or a passage up from the inside. i just shortcut and paps, well er, he has several creative ways to get up here." 

You eye the roof of their 'guest house'. "Let me guess. All of them stupidly dangerous and complicated?" 

"bingo. he refuses to build stairs and it's not like I need them." You lean into the railing and him as you survey the view. It's beautiful. The small river, the trees, the fresh fallen snow... 

"All you need are stars," you say. "Stars and it not to smell like a cave." Sans leans into you and you feel him begin to break down. "Then it'd be a perfect view." 

"I want you to be happy Sans. I know you won't be at first, but eventually I want you to be happy. Live. Move on. Can you do that for me?" He doesn't answer. You feel the silence stretching on and you know that Sans won't promise you that. Sans has hope and for once, you wish he didn't. "Can it just be us tonight? No worrying about tomorrow? I want you with me tonight, not pacing the room and thinking." 

"i want to find a way to-" 

"Sans, _please_." You hadn't felt the tears bubbling up, but they had been. It finally starts to hit you, to catch up with you. This is probably the end. "I'm probably going to- oh god, it's over. I'm dying tomorrow. I'm going to-" 

"babe, you don't know that." He doesn't even sound like he remotely believes that. 

"All signs point to it though... You want to know how fucking sure of it I am? I even ran into Flowey last night and he didn't kill me. He barely even taunted me." 

"you what?" Oh right, you weren't going to tell him that. Smooth move ----. "why didn't you mention that last night?" 

"You were already so upset. I didn't want to worry you more." You shudder. "I'm gonna die." The dam bursts and you sob. Sans tries to comfort you, but being wrapped in his arms just makes it hurt more.

 

* * *

 

 

"always thought we'd have more time," he finally says. Neither of you have actually spoken in ages it seems like. He'd started to cry while he'd held you out there and after a few minutes of that, he'd slowly opened the void, so that you could sense it before he'd pulled you into it, and into your room. The two of you had separated only long enough (and far enough) to get ready for bed. 

Now you're wrapped in his arms, the side of your head pressed to his bare sternum, just feeling the thrum of magic. "Whaddya mean?" 

"soulmates mean that we'd spend the rest of our lives together. maybe down here we'd never bond just in case, but i'd be ok with that since i'd have you. maybe i'd outlive you, but we'd have a few decades together at least." His fingers find your scalp and gently scratch at it causing you to make a very content noise. "the four of us could be a family. go build a house in the forest big enough for all of us. we'd never be able to have a babybones of our own, but we have frisk which is almost the same thing. maybe we'd get a niece or nephew through paps someday." 

"Hiding is no way to live. What about Frisk? It's not fair to hold them hostage." 

"stop with the logic, 'm dreaming here." You apologize and mean it. Being a killjoy isn't something you like to be. "doesn't have to be a dream though. we could say 'fuck it' and go live in the ruins. there's room there right? i've never been." 

"It'd be cramped," you decide to join him in this dream. It sounds nice. "It'd be really cramped actually, but I think we could make it work. The place is about ninety percent puzzles." 

"of course it is." He lets out a small laugh that turns into a sigh. Your fingers, without even thinking about it, have wrapped around his ribs and are gently rubbing the back of them. "if paps doesn't want to come we can just pop out and see him and everyone else occasionally." 

"Sounds wonderful." 

An easy silence forms between the two of you, his hand playing with your hair and yours with his ribs. When you slide to his spine, he melts into you. "you won't go though. hiding isn't your style. i can tell you hate it now. what am i going to do without you?" 

"You're going to mourn me and miss me, but you're going to be happy Sans. See the surface. Go see the stars." You sniffle again, but you try and keep yourself together.  

"i wanna show you something, if you'll let me." You whine as he untangles his hand from your hair. That had felt good dammit. He chuckles at your whine before he carefully pushes you off of him (man, you wish you could growl like he can sometimes) and rolls to face you. His eyes don't leave your face as he brings his hand to his sternum. "can i?" 

Can he what? It takes you a second to realize that he's talking about his SOUL. "Sure?" You can't keep the question out of your voice. You have no idea what he wants to show you, but whatever it is, you're game.  

He gives you a bright smile – the first one since yesterday morning- before he pulls his SOUL free. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Future talk heavily inspired by the show Scandal. Vermont anyone?


	68. One Last Night

His SOUL is still stunning. Without yours present, it's white again. The bright red cuts reappear after another heartbeat. He's beautiful.  

"when you decided to share yours with me, you said it was because you couldn't imagine me not knowing. i, er, i don't want you to not know either." He makes a sound that reminds you of a gulp which makes you notice two things. One, you're staring at him. Two, his hand that's holding his SOUL out is trembling. "i want you to know how i feel." 

"I don't get it," you say after a second.  

"i touched yours remember? now i want," your staring is interrupted by the sudden flash of blue on his face. He's blushing. "i want you to touch me. need you to touch me." 

"What if I hurt you?" You bite your lip, uncertain. It's not that you don't want to, because suddenly the curiosity and the need to know him is consuming you, but you don't know what you're doing. The thought of accidentally hurting him is terrifying.  

"you won't. intent."He sounds so sure of himself and of you. You wish you were that sure. You almost say 'no'. It's on the tip of your tongue, it really is, when you look in his eyes. Those bright lights, so oddly expressive, are trained on your face. They're filled with hope, with longing, with love; any thoughts of denying the man in front of you die.  

"What do I do?" His smile widens then, the whites of his eyes turning mischievous.  

"touch me however you want. just please, touch me." You have the sneaking suspicion that he's up to something, that there's a reason that he's not telling you how to touch him, but you can't bring yourself to care. So you take your index finger and touch the side of him. 

Instantly, his magic reaches for you. It's the same tingling sensation that you feel when you touch his bones, except that it's directly on you now. He's warm, inviting, and – Sans grabs your hand and presses more of it to his SOUL. You see why this overwhelmed him now. 

There's a tall skeleton dressed in black in front of you now, blurry, you turn and look at yourself in a mirror. Except it's not you – there's a small skeleton with wide sockets, wide cheekbones, and a big grin looking back. The picture blurs and you're a little bigger now, looking down at a smaller skeleton child in your arms and being filled with wonder and love.  

He's showing you his memories. 

There's a twist and suddenly, Papyrus is an older child (Frisk's age maybe?) and there's a fierce defiance bubbling in you, a need to protect him from something or someone. Another twist and Papyrus is a teenager and you're physically separating him from someone.  When you turn to face whatever you're protecting him from, the background shifts from a house to the true lab and there's a needle going into your exposed SOUL. 

This time, the images bubble as they shift and you feel Sans' confusion. You're trying to find out what's happening. What's going on? Why do you feel like you've done this all before? Then you watch Undyne kill Frisk, blink, and then you're watching Frisk walk out of your house. You feel pain, so much pain. You're so lost and alone, trapped in hell itself. Despair, self-loathing, hate, and guilt are all you feel when you look at the red on your SOUL.

When everything shifts this time, you see yourself. You're on the ground, scrambling to turn around and back away with your ass in the snow when you shake the hand Sans offers you when there's a loud 'pffffttt' and your head snaps up and the hood falls back. You're laughing in relief, but all you feel is Sans' confusion. You're on the ground in that guest house, showing Sans your wounds, and are filled with guilt. Your first trip to Grillby's together, hope.  

The next images are rapid fire, but the feeling he shares – love. His love for you is so deep, started so soon that he hadn't even noticed it. He didn't realize how deep the bond was until you see your SOULs gravitating towards each other, rainbow and cyan and yellow, when he realizes that he's loved you the entire time. 

Watching yourself with Frisk and Papyrus, feeling the sense of belonging and wanting. The hope that this is his now. 

He drops your hand then pulls you to him as soon as his SOUL is back in his body. Holy shit. It was so much. So much love, so much desire. You feel like the worst kind of person for knowing that you're sacrificing yourself. He's shuddering and you know why – if it feels anything like what him touching you felt like, it was a lot. 

"Are you alright?" 

"no," his sockets are still squeezed shut. "i still have left." He still has what now? Was that a joke? Of course it was. You snort before you break out in giggles. When you look at him again, he's watching you with one eye visible.  

"That was horrible Sans. Awful." He smirks at you. There's a playfulness building in you when you meet his eyes – um, eye. "Patience and justice." He cocks his head at you as you press a palm to his cheek, tracing the side of his left socket. "The color theory. It fits you. You should have some purple for perseverance in there somewhere though." 

"i never thought about it like that," Sans looks thoughtful as he stares back at you. "i guess i do technically. one of my abilities uses purple magic." He shivers again and presses into you again after another second. 

"Can I touch you?" 

"heh, like you need to ask." 

 

* * *

 

It's hours later by the time that Sans is finally finished with you. You've lost count of how many times you've came – it seems your boy was determined to give you more of a reason to stay- before he shudders one last time and moans your name probably a little too loud. You can't judge – the final burst of magic sends you into one last orgasm around him which has you biting on his clavicle. 

You release his bone from your mouth, pressing a kiss to it. He says it doesn't hurt, but you always feel bad when you latch onto him too hard. God forbid you break a bone. He doesn't pull out like he normally does.  

Opening your eyes, he's watching you. His face has his version of a sex flush, his one eye scanning over your face.  You're still flushed, heart rate still returning to normal, and now you're embarrassed too. He's examining you – you go to cover your face when he stops you. 

"don't," you glance up when he grabs your wrist. 

"You're watching me and it's weird."  

"'m not sorry. just memorizing this." _Oh_. You let him. You let your wrist go limp and, just in case you can remember things when you're dead, you drink him in too. 

You giggle at the feeling in your chest. "My SOUL is reaching for yours." 

"i want to know," he mumbles. "i want to know so bad. i wanna feel so bad." He sighs and his magic dissipates before he rolls to the side, wrapping you into his arms. 

 

* * *

 

 

You hadn't even realized that you'd fallen asleep until the door to your shared bedroom is opening. What the fuck? 

" _Are you guys awake? I knocked but..."_  

"we were asleep. 'sup friskybutt?" 

" _I just wanted..."_ You can't see them in the dark, but you picture them wringing their hands in the doorway.  You mentally do a quick check (you're pressed against Sans, but you're both dressed for bed again) before you call out to them. 

"Wanted what? What's wrong?" 

" _Nothing. Can I just... can I stay with you guys tonight?"_ Sans nods against your head. 

"If you want to." 

"just remember that there's three of us here. don't steal the covers." You hear a small click and the room is dark again. You hear the quiet sound of them walking across the room as you toss the covers down. This bed really is way too small for this, but you'll deal.  

You hear a small squeak as they join you in bed, feel the shift of their weight onto the bed as they crawl in next to you. They curl up under your chin, facing out, and you feel Sans wrap and arm around you both. You're feeling so loved, so warm, and so tired that you start to fall asleep again right away. You're right on the edge, barely aware of the outside world, your breathing slowing.

" _I love you both._ " Frisk's voice is shaky and tentative in your head as they test out the words.  

"love you too," Sans murmurs sleepily. "now sleep kid." 

 

* * *

 

You're at the barrier again with Chara. They're standing next to you, arms are crossed and hip jutted to the side. " _So tomorrow, huh?_ " 

"Tomorrow." Chara nods, like you're confirming an appointment. "What's it like? Dying, I mean." 

" _I t's not so bad. It's like falling asleep. Of course that might be because I literally fell asleep and didn't wake up._" 

"Real encouraging Chara. Real enlightening. Thanks." Chara giggles at you, but doesn't say anything more. 

The barrier keeps flashing before your eyes, the sliding grey-scale inviting you. Inviting you where? To the surface? To your death? 

" _Any regrets? " _ 

"No." It's true. You're sad to potentially be going to your death, but you're leaving a happy individual. They will be hurt, hurt for a long time, but with Sans whispered 'love you too' you know that you're leaving behind a family that will heal and grow even without you there.  

" _None? Really? That's..._ _quaint_ _. Not even from your life before?"  _ 

"I wish some things hadn't have happened, yes. But... I don't regret them. I wouldn't be here without them. Or who I am." Chara's eyes are watching you with curiosity mixed with something else. Admiration maybe?  

" _Maybe if I would have lived longer, I would have grown out of this hatred. "_ You look over at Chara. They'd died a child, with a child's feelings. It'd taken you years to move past everything, even with professional help, and you hadn't been as young as they were. It doesn't excuse what they'd done, not by a long shot, but... If you'd been them, could you really say that you'd be any different?

Again, there's pity in you for them. A child, long dead, forced to this world on a tether of hatred and their SOUL alone. Not able to just be dead. Their SOUL powering the underground itself. 

" _Oh? "_  

You picture the SOUL trapped in the generator, pale pink and lifeless, before you can stop yourself. Chara looks at you and shakes their head. 

" _You shouldn't have done that. You were so close. I'd started to hope that you wouldn't tell me. " _Chara's face breaks out into a wicked grin again. " _Looks like the game isn't over yet. "_ 

The light pink heart is suddenly a vibrant red again in your mind. 

 

* * *

 

When you wake up, you don't feel quite like yourself.


	69. Bergentrückung

Today's the day. You feel off, but pass it off as nerves. Who wouldn't feel off on their execution day? The charm around your neck is burning a low constant heat again. Sans had gone ahead, promising to meet you at the Judgment Hall, his sockets full of apologies. He couldn't handle joining your death march across the Underground. Frisk squeezes your hand, bringing you back to the present.  

" _What are we going to tell Papyrus?"_ You're out in the center of Snowdin, waiting for Grillby. You have no idea why they're asking that. " _He's going to be in_ _Hotland_ _with_ _Undyne_ _, I think."_  

You know exactly what they're asking now. "I don't think that's our place Frisk. We just have a meeting with the king."  

" _But-_ " 

"Frisk, this is hard enough without him knowing. Please." Frisk glares at you. Pity forms in your gut. You should tell Paps, but... The thought of him knowing what was about to happen kind of makes you want to vomit. 

"Thank you for waiting," Grillby appears in a flurry of flames, rushing toward you. "I'm not sorry though. Not too late to hide out in the bar all morning."  

"You guys are gonna make me lose my nerve." All these offers to keep you safe are making you want to hide. Sans this morning had offered the ruins again.  

Grillby's flames quirk up into a smile and you see the blue flickering in them again. It's been so long since you've actively looked for it, that you've almost forgotten that that determination is yours. "That's the point." 

You shake your head, a few tears already starting up. Summoning your courage, you reach for Grillby's hand. Together, the three of you head for the Riverperson, towards Hotland. 

The Riverperson doesn't say anything, thank god. You don't think you can handle any otherworldly weirdness today. 

 

* * *

 

Undyne, Alphys, Mettaton, and Papyrus are all waiting for you in the lobby of Mettaton's hotel. Papyrus is oblivious, caught up in his own nerves, rambling about strategies when you walk in. He wasn't used to meeting with Asgore yet apparently.  The other three aren't. Undyne makes a frantic motion towards Alphys, grabbing and squeezing her clawed hand. Alphys squeezes back, her other hand wiping at her eyes. Mettaton just gives you a sad smile, god he'd perfected that look, and nods his head at you. 

They're going to be free tonight. One way or the other, they will feel the sun on their faces for the first time. Smell fresh air. See the ocean. These thoughts don't fill you with determination, but they do fill you with more courage. 

"OH – I DIDN'T KNOW THAT YOU'D BE JOINING US!"  

"A meeting with the king," you throw a fake smile onto your face and hope that Papyrus doesn't notice. "Grillby just kind of tagged along." 

"I haven't seen the palace in a while, that's all."  

"WOWIE! THAT'S EXCITING!" 

"Sure is," you lie. "So are we going?" Can we go before you start to tremble again? Before you run back towards Snowdin? 

"E-elevator is here," Alphys gives a loud sniffle. "Everyone r-r-ready?" 

All eyes are on you. "As I'll ever be." 

 

* * *

 

Before you know it, you're in Judgment Hall. Sans is there, facing away from you, hood over his head. It's eerily familiar. Slowly, he turns and when he sees you, the mask slips in front of everyone. "----, you don't have to do this." 

"I do." You're shaking again.  

"DO WHAT? ASGORE IS A GIANT TEDDYBEAR!" You faintly hear Undyne hiss for Papyrus to shut up.  

"no, you don't. you're my soulmate... you're supposed to be mine. not do this." This is Sans' last stand, you realize.  

"Yeah, you don't need to do this. That's got to be more we can do!" Undyne wraps an arm around your shoulders. Alphys nods her head from Undyne's side, the tears running down her face openly now. You feel the warmth in your SOUL bloom from Grillby. There's another hand on your back.  

"I know this sounds strange coming from me of all monsters, but you don't have to do this. It's not so bad down here, really. What's another few decades?" Mettaton gives you a pleading look and you do laugh at that.  

"Guys... this is why I have to do this. I love you all. You've brought out the best of me. I'm an entirely different person than I was when I first fell down here. Please, let me do this for you. For you all."  

You're crying, wrapped in everyone's arms. You feel all their love for you. You can do this. You can do this for them.  

"Sans... What am I missing?" Papyrus' voice does make you cry harder. After a minute, everyone pulls away.  

"I, um," Undyne wipes at her face, "I need to get ready to meet with him. Alphys is going to come with me and once we have him buttered up she'll come get you. Pap-" She stops then, looking at something you can't see.  

"I'll come too. What? Someone has to come help you two blubbering messes keep it together." Mettaton gives you a peck on the cheek before he grabs Alphys and Undyne and pulls them across the room.  

Now that there's less people in the room (and that you're less crowded), you see why Undyne had stopped. Sans has pulled Papyrus aside, talking to him in a hushed voice. Sans beat Frisk to the punch – based on Papyrus' quickly falling face, Sans was explaining what you were about to do. What you had to do. 

You watch as Papyrus slowly sinks to the ground, thinking everything over. Even from here you can see how lost Sans is.  

“I'll be right back you guys,” you say.”I need to talk to Paps.” You don't rush over to the two of them. You give both of them plenty of time to see you and shoo you off, but neither of them does. Poor Sans is having a very bad day, you think, when his wide eyes meet yours. He keeps trying to comfort Papyrus, but can't.  

“Papy? Can I talk to you for a few minutes?” You feel his attention drift to you despite his lack of pupils. He gives you a curt nod, so unlike him. “Sans, can you give us a minute?” 

Sans eyes the both of you for a second, clearly not wanting to leave either of you be, before he walks towards Grillby and Frisk. Once you're pretty sure he's out of earshot you turn all your attention to Papyrus. 

“Why didn't anyone tell me?” His voice is so low you struggle to hear him. “I…I…I don't kill. Defend, yes. Possibly seriously harm or maim, I could live with that. But to kill? To sentence innocent humans to death? That's not what I am. I refuse to be what he made me to be." 

“You were so passionate Paps. No one wanted to take that from you. I don't think anyone could take it from you.” He glares at you for a second before his anger dissipates. 

“What you must think of me... The Great Papyrus, the fool who thought that you didn't need to die to break the…wait. Does that mean that Mettaton –“ 

“Yes, but he was only doing what he thought was right. Papyrus, I love you. I love that passion of yours.” 

“You all lied to me. Sans lied to me.” It's obvious which bit of this hurt the most to him.  

“We did. He did. If the roles were reversed, wouldn't you do the same?” 

Papyrus gives a small huff as he thinks, but you sense the shift back to himself. “I would. Are you sure you want to do this?” You bite your lip as you nod. "Do you have a plan if something goes wrong?"  

"Kind of?" You hadn't expected him to just going along with it so easily. You'd expected him to argue with you too, not just accept it. 

"KIND OF?" He winces at the sound of his voice echoing in the hall. "Kind of? You should have told me sooner! The Great Papyrus is a master strategist that could have helped." You offer him your hand and he takes it. You pull him up (something that probably looks hilarious to everyone else) and watch him shift back to normal.  

"Wait. Can I ask you to do something for me?”  

"Anything!" 

"If...If I don't make it, will you make sure that everyone lives?" He raises a browbone at you, clearly confused. "Don't let Sans and Frisk mope around for too long. Make them live. Go places. Do things." Understanding dawns on Papyrus' face. "And one more thing, please? If things go badly in there... Can you get Frisk out of there? I don't want them to see." 

"Of course." When you smile at him, he pulls you into a hug.  

 

* * *

 

 

No one is talking. The hall is so quiet. There's no noise other than the sounds you all make. For the first time you understand the meaning of 'the silence was deafening'.  That's why you aren't startled when Alphys appears. You could hear her walking as soon as she hit the tile. 

"I-I-It's time." Her head is down, voice quiet, but it still echoes in this underground cathedral.  

"Ok." Deep breath, ----. There's no backing out now. You're shaking suddenly, terrified. There's no way you can do this. The necklace gets hotter, but it's almost soothing in a way. 

It's almost over. 

"Let's go." No one says anything at first. Grillby and Papyrus walk ahead with Alphys, giving Frisk and Sans a final moment alone, you realize. Frisk sniffles next to you and just wraps their arms around one of yours like an anchor.  

'You're doing this so Frisk doesn't have to', you tell yourself. 

Sans finds your other hand with his own. There's a grim determination in those sockets that you don't like.  

'You're doing this so every monster can be free', you tell yourself.  

"Let's go," you say again.  

No one says anything as you all walk towards the throne room. It's beautiful. The golden flowers take up most of the floor of the smaller room, a giant throne in the center of them. There's another throne covered by a tarp in the back; a gloom reminder of the heartache that had already taken place here, centuries ago. 

That was Tori's throne before she left. She'd left because Asgore declared war on humanity, had decided to kill any humans that fell.  

In the center of the room, Undyne is talking to someone incredibly huge that's facing away from all of you.  

Asgore. 

He's tall. Taller than anyone you've met so far, his purple cape looks more like a bedspread for a large bed than any cape you've ever seen. Undyne looks up, meets your eyes, and gives you a grim smile. 

"Asgore, here's our alternative."  

Suddenly, it's just you, Sans, and Frisk. The others have spread out a bit. He spins, a surprising graceful motion for his size. He's a goat monster too. White fur covers the parts of his body that you can see, blonde hair (or was is fur?) like a mane. Large thick horns frame his crown. His gentle gaze becomes angry and you have to look away from his face.  

There's a moment when time slows again. Asgore makes a sudden motion, drawing a red trident out of nowhere. You push Frisk behind you, untangling them from your arm, preparing to die instantly. You close your eyes and – _ohgodiseveryonegoingtohavetowatchthis_ \- brace. 

"Sans. Move." The voice is a deep rumble that you can feel in your chest.  

"no." You crack open your eyes again, nervous. You can see a bit of Asgore, but instead of the trident through your chest that you expect to see, you see mostly blue. Sans has stepped in front of you, his hand still holding yours.  

"Sans, move now. That's -"  

"a human, i know. not until you hear everyone out." You shiver, feeling the angry gaze of the king tracing over the two of you, settling over your entwined hands. "they've both been here for months asgore. haven't hurt a fly. they've been working on a way to break the barrier without dying."  

Suddenly, everyone is talking at once. They're all vouching for you and Frisk. How you've been a valuable addition to the underground, how much they've learned from you, how much they love you... Sans is the only one not talking, opting to instead pull both you and Frisk forward, wrapping his arms around you both.  

"Guys, stop. Thank you, but  stop." You gulp when the room quiets. "Your highness, I... I came here ready to die. I've been working with Alphys for a few months on a way to break the barrier without dying. She has a few ideas, but they all involve being at the barrier. Could we... could we try it?" 

Asgore doesn't answer and you look down at the flowers at your feet. This will be a pretty place to die at least. The silence is broken by Alphys without warning, Asgore must have given some sort of signal, talking about her ideas.  

You feel Asgore approach, his presence alone making you want to run screaming. "On days like this, I miss my wife. She'd be able to look straight at you and know all your intentions. I'm not so blessed, unfortunately."  

" _She gave us shelter_ ," Frisk interrupts finally, their voice a whisper. There's no echo at all, which means that Frisk is broadcasting for everyone.  " _She looked at our SOULs and we lived with her. She wanted us both to come back too._ " 

Asgore is quiet. You don't know if that's a good thing or not.  

"Very well. You have one hour with the barrier. Then... I must do what must be done." 

Alphys squeals, running forward and pulling you to the barrier before you can blink. The barrier itself is underwhelming in a way, familiar in another. The corridor shifts from black to white, the shades of grey dancing before your eyes.  

Time to get to work. 

 

* * *

 

 

Everyone except Asgore watches you and Alphys work; Sans providing an extra pair of hands when needed. Alphys summons the six previous SOULs from their hiding spot. Six hearts of different colors, all in canisters waiting to be freed. All of the known traits, except determination.  

 

Test One – Expose SOUL, see if it reacts with the others. 

**FAILED**

Test Two- See if a monster SOUL helps encourage a response.  

(Sans volunteers as long as no one can see his SOUL besides you) 

**FAILED**

Test Three- Two human SOULs? 

**FAILED**

Test Four – See if a human SOUL combined with monster magic can break the barrier. 

**FAILED**  

More tests. 

More failures. 

 

When Asgore reappears, you're resigned. You can't look anyone in the eyes. This is it. It's all over. Maybe you'll see everyone again. Maybe you'll be able to watch them live their lives.   

"For what it's worth human. I'm sorry. I so wish that we could be having tea, discussing how you freed us all," Asgore's voice is peaceful, with a hint of an apology in it.  

You close your eyes, hoping your bravery is hiding behind your eyelids. "Me too," you say. You hear the summoning of his trident again. You aren't ready to die. 

The necklace is burning hot. You feel like it's branding you, not that it matters at this point. 

_You don't want to die_.  

You hope for help. For a miracle.

 

 

 There's a rush of noise and then – nothing? Did Asgore make it so fast that you didn't even feel it? That’s... that's nice. 

 

You open your eyes after another moment. No, you're not dead. There's a red trident pointed at you, only about a foot from piercing your ribcage like a knife. Nothings moving, not even breathing. Well, one thing is moving. 

Help came.  

"Hello my dear."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates are probably going to be sporadic this week. There's only a few more chapters left for part two and god forbid I miss anything that's important for part three ;) 
> 
> Anyways, to make up for that cliffhanger, have the greatest sixteen second Undertale animation ever. [This event](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLTjgxDPfN8) is now canon to me.


	70. Shadows Cutting Deeper

You instantly recognize the shifting darkness as the void from the last timeline. Even if you didn't, you'd recognize the feeling. Unlike the last time you saw it, it isn't stagnant. It's alive, moving towards you, watching you. It stops only a few paces away from you before it curls into a ball on the ground. After a moment, it solidifies, slowly standing. 

What was once a blob is now a person in a hooded robe. 

"River? Is that... Is that you?" You know it's not before you even finish the thought. 

"River? No, but I can see how you may think that. They've been keeping an eye on me for such a long time. Now, how are you my dear?" The static voice is familiar, but not at the same time. There's a stab of fear in you that you force down. 

How are you? Seriously? The hysterical cackle escapes your throat before you can stop it. Time is apparently frozen around you, there's a trident a foot or so from you that was a second (if that) from killing you, and the void is just hanging out, shaped like a person no less, just like it appeared last timeline.  

"That was rather tactless of me, wasn't it? You can move ----, it won't matter. Time won't magically unfreeze. Well, not without my magic telling it to unfreeze." 

Not even bothering to question how it (he - the static sound sounds masculine, if static could sound masculine; a thought that feels like déjà vu) knows your name, you move away from what would have been the instrument of your death.  

Everyone's looking at you. Or, where you were standing. The barrier is still glimmering, moving behind you, but it's the only thing besides the void-man that dares to move. You don't look at the king or the void. You look at your friends. No, your family. 

Undyne is holding an Alphys that's in midcry. They're both looking at you with tears streaming down their faces, like they couldn't bear to look away. Mettaton is squeezing Papyrus' shoulder, his eyes closed. Papyrus, oh that sweetheart, he's covering Frisk's eyes. Like Undyne and  Alphys, he's watching you. You can't see Frisk through his hands, but you can see that they're struggling to watch. 

Grillby is also watching you. He's crying, the streaks of lava running down his face. He also looks like he's bracing for something. Pain maybe? You didn't really think about how you dying would feel with that bond of yours. 

Sans. You'd give anything to forget the look on his face. He's watching, you knew he would. His sockets are dark black, his face twisted in anguish and helplessness.  

"Why did you stop time?" You look away from your friends, towards the only other person aware of what's happening. "Who are you?" 

"Do you really want to know?" The look on your face must tell him the answer since in the blink of an eye he's directly in front of you; his hands visible and pulling the hood down.  

He's a skeleton monster. His hands are skeletal, each one with a hole in the palm. His face is narrow like Papyrus' with the same quiet confidence. He has two cracks on his skull – one above his right socket that leads into it and another one that's more like a scar, leading from his bottom left socket to his mouth. The two white pinpricks in them are what confirm your guess though. In those pinpricks you see the same intelligence that you see in Sans' eyes. 

"I am W.D. Gaster. You called for me." 

"I did not." Gaster smiles wider at your insolent tone.  

"You did. You called for help and here I am." He eyes you like a puzzle for a moment. "Ah, I understand. I have some explaining to do it seems. Forgive me, I've been in the void for so long that it's driven me... That is I've lost some awareness of my social graces.  I've been with you this entire time in a way." You cock your eyebrow at him. This being seems nothing like what Sans and Papyrus have described, so you're on your guard.  

Gaster moves part of his rob out of the way, exposing more of his neck. He raises a browbone at you, gesturing to the top of his sternum. What about it? He moves his neck a bit when it catches your eye. Around his neck is the same charm that rests on your chest – the Delta Rune pendant.  

"I was found with it when I first came into this world. Before I explain more, what do you know of my disappearance?"  

You're still wary, but now you're curious too. "Sans and Alphys think that you're scattered over time and space. That that's why only people that knew you can remember you." 

There's a flash of pride in his face and you see the lights of his eyes flicker from Alphys to Sans before they return to you. This Gaster is totally different than the one you were told about. "They're right! I'm not dead, you see. Well, not really." He coughs and shakes his head – a habit that you've seen both Sans and Papyrus do countless times. "Now, this is real important. What do you know about time?"  

You shrug and feel incredibly stupid. 

"Time is tangible. That's what you feel in the void, by the way, it's time. Time is also incredibly complex. Multiple dimensions complex. For example, did you know that there are multiple universes?" He doesn't even give you a chance to answer, before he starts to pace and keep talking. "There are different realities, countless ones, some where the difference between this one and that one could be as simple as the color of your eyes. Some where the differences are... much larger."  

He smiles at you and you get a sudden rush of images flooding your brain. A you that hadn't dated your ex, a Sans with red eyes and sharp teeth, a you that had fallen as a child, and – you can't pinpoint any of the other images. All you know is that they were real.  

"Holy shit." You need to sit down.  

You stumble down right where you're standing and Gaster stops mid-pace, giving you an apologetic look. "I apologize. It's a lot to take in at once. It took me years to make my peace with it. Unfortunately, you don't have that amount of time." He gives you a moment at least. "Now, do you believe in destiny?"  

"I, uh," you stutter. Oh, apparently you were supposed to answer this one. "I'm not sure. I've never given it much thought honestly." 

"Of course not. Why would you?" You try not to feel insulted. "You never would have thought that there might be a string or two that connects every universe, a constant so to speak. Throughout every universe in the multiverse, there are a few constants that never change. One of those is you and my son. In every universe that you survive long enough to, you two find each other. Just as Asgore and Toriel as well as Grillby and Joan find each other, so do you two." He smiles at you as he pauses, giving you time to digest this. 

It takes you a good two minutes, but you do find your voice again. "Do you have a point to this besides making me feel like an asshole?" 

"Yes." Whatever that point is, is apparently to remain a mystery. He doesn't volunteer any more information.  

"You're... you're nothing like what I thought you'd be," you admit to break the silence. 

"I know. Papyrus sees the best in everyone and Sans has no reasons to think fondly of me. I made some serious mistakes, mistakes long before my sons came into being. Mistakes that I tried to erase from memory. I wasn't always a bad guy. I got caught up in freeing us all." 

"What happened to you?"  

"Chara happened, along with my stupid amount of curiosity. Chara allowed me to inject some of their determination into myself before they died. I later found out that they'd heard me talking to the king and queen. It's so strong. I got greedy. I couldn't wait a few more years for Chara to grow up so I influenced the royal children, which is what caused this mess. When I...When I stole their SOUL, I didn't realize that their determination in me would help them linger. Then I injected even more into myself over the years. With every SOUL that we collected, they grew stronger." 

"Did you know that I didn't fall into the CORE? I was pushed into the Determination Extractor. Chara pushed me into it, and because of their determination, the machine backfired. Scattering me across time and space. This part of me that you're talking to now is the part of me that existed before Chara's death. Before I lost myself." 

"Chara and I are responsible for each other. Round and round we go, fighting throughout the ages in the void."  

That sounds horrible. If he's telling the truth, then everything is connected. If he's telling the truth, the road to hell is truly paved with the best of intentions. "So, this necklace?"  

"Oh, forgive me. Yes. I've been with you this entire time through it. That's why Sans could even touch it, despite the magic from the Rune being strong enough to block our kind of magic. Did you really think it was coincidence? I warned you of danger. I wanted you to be safe. Wanted you to have an idea of what was to come." 

"How? Hell, why?" 

"I gave it to the queen centuries ago as a gift. It was a fun little mystery that we pondered over before I got obsessed with SOULs. Why was I found with the symbol of a legend of theirs? A symbol representing ancient magic? I don't remember anything from before I came into this world. I guess some of my magic lingered in it. The 'why' is kind of self-serving, I'm afraid." 

"We've done this before, you see. And we'll do it again. In multiple universes, in multiple timelines, with multiple yous. I'm predestined to appear here and talk with you. Your choice of action after this may aid in my redemption. Will you move out of the way to survive? Or are you determined to save everyone?" 

"Will Frisk reset?" 

Warmth and understanding blossom on his face. "I cannot say because I do not know. Sometimes they do despite their promise, other times they honor it. In the ones where they honor it, you are a hero. You represent hope to all of monsterkind. The one that freed them all." 

You walk towards Asgore and really look at him for the first time. His eyes. His eyes tell a whole new story. Years of pain, regret, and despair look back at you without seeing you. 

"I want to save everyone," you finally say. 

"Good. Before I go..."  He hesitates as he approaches you, his hands reaching and finding yours. "Tell Sans about this. Tell him that I'm sorry. Maybe one day, he'll tell Papyrus for me. I... I never wanted to be a father. Chara and I...I lost myself and needed help and needed freedom and that... That they both deserved so much better." 

"How am I going to do that as a dead woman?" 

Gaster doesn't answer, carefully positioning you where you were standing before time froze, placing you in the precise spot where you were before. In a moment of bravado, you look Asgore in the eyes. You feel something new, something you've never felt before, in that moment. 

Determination. 

"The next time you meet me, it won't be the me that you just met. I don't even know if I'm still alive in there. Beware of that man." 

"And...I'm so sorry for what's about to happen. Good luck." 

You don't even have a second to wonder what that means before he's gone and time unfreezes, a fireball appearing out of nowhere across the room and distracting Asgore. It's the last moment you have before you're calling for help, stuck in your own head. 

But this time, nobody came.  

The only answer is a giggle in your head. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally chapter title - Deus Ex Gaster. I like this one better though.


	71. It's Me, Your Best Friend...

Sans had thought that Asgore would be man enough to at least let him say goodbye. That he'd do what he did with Frisk in the timelines when they were good. That Asgore would give you a soft smile with sadness all over his face, telling you to take your time and come to him when you're ready.  

That's not what happened. 

Sans is frantically thinking of alternatives when Asgore approaches you. The void, he realizes. It'd mean sharing what he is, what Gaster had done to him with everyone, but fuck if you aren't worth it. Maybe a Blaster combined with the energy of your SOUL (and maybe Frisk's SOUL too) could shatter the barrier. It's new, potentially dangerous, never been done before.

He's just about to ask for another test, just one more, when he feels the shift of magic in air – Asgore had pulled out his trident. Too late. He's too late. He doesn't even have time to shortcut to you, let alone get you out of harm's way. He sees the blur of red heading toward you, sees your SOUL being pulled out at the last second...  

Then there's what he can only describe as a hiccup in time. Nothing looks any different, but he senses that something weird had happened here at the same moment a fireball forms beside Asgore. For once in his life, he's thankful for whatever it was that fucked with time. That the determination in him allows him to sense weird fluxes, even without equipment. 

Tori's here now which means that _you're safe_. He's always liked watching Tori rip into his boss from the shadows (who doesn't like seeing their boss get yelled at from time to time?), but now? He's going to enjoy this. When Asgore is tossed aside by the fireball like a ragdoll, Sans relishes it.  

"Asgore Dreemur, you spineless whelp," Toriel appears out of nowhere, practically snarling at her ex. Two things happen simultaneously – Undyne summons a spear, ready to defend her king, while Asgore instantaneously curls into himself a bit. "Rather than work with these humans, you would kill one and leave the other without a guardian!"  

"Tori." Asgore makes the mistake of smiling up at her, hope in his eyes. He remembers this. Asgore's love for Tori is always the same. There's always the happiness that she's back followed by the hope that she's here to stay. Undyne's magic weakens some, uncertain.  

"Don't you dare 'Tori' me. You lost that right long ago. It's Toriel to you now." Sans wishes he could pry his eyes away to take in everyone's expressions. The thrum of magic disappears, Undyne having pieced together that this woman was the long lost queen. "----? Frisk? Are you two alright?" 

" _Y-yes Mom_ ," Frisk sounds shaken as he watches you nod. You're trembling almost violently, looking at the ground. He feels a pang in his SOUL. Now that Asgore's out of the way he rushes to your side, no shortcutting, and grabs your hand. He wishes he had the bond with you like Grillby does – he'd be able to show you that everything is going to be just fine now that Tori's here without saying a word.  

Tori won’t let you die. 

"Oh. Hello everyone! I'm Tori. Are you all friends of the humans? Wait. Grillby, is that really you?" Tori's icy exterior melts at the sight of the gang of spectators that are watching, a warm smile hitting her features when she spots Grillby. 

"It is," Grillby sounds uncertain. "It's, uh, good to see you well." Maybe one day you'll be at Grillby's together, looking back at the first time Grillby ever sounded anything less than confident. Sans lets himself fantasize about it before Tori's gaze flickers to him. 

"heya lady." He can't keep the smile off his face (stupid fake grin long since forgotten today, if you live he'll never force that stupid smile back on) when she recognizes his voice. "sans the skeleton, funny-bone tickler extraordinaire." Maybe this will be the last time that he introduces himself to her.  

"SANS, IS THIS REALLY THE TIME-" 

"Oh Sans, it is a pleasure to finally put a face and a name to the voice." When Papyrus makes a strangled noise, she explains that they tell jokes together, which just makes Papyrus more upset. Poor Paps, the queen likes his jokes. Sans zones out again, letting himself just be grounded to this timeline again by your touch, only being half aware of Frisk walking over. 

Sans snaps out of his thoughts when Asgore clears his throat. "Tori, this needs. Er, Toriel, sorry.  This needs to happen. I'm sorry, but we're only one SOUL away from -" 

"From freedom?  We've been one SOUL away for centuries. You could have killed one, Asgore. One! One and gone to the surface yourself.  It still would have been horrid, any death is too much death now, but it would have been over almost four hundred years ago! Or even better, you could have let that second human die peacefully of old age and then taken their SOUL and gone to the surface. Instead you stole six more children from me."  

Asgore looks like he's been punched in the gut.  

"Toriel, please. Listen to me." 

"No." Tori is wound up. She's never been this pissed off at the king before. This is new. All of this is new and Sans isn't sure how he feels about it. "You listen to me. Humans trapped us down here because they feared us. At the time, they had no reason to. I spent so many years angry at them. Then these two fell together. ---- fell out of compassion. She tried to pull Frisk away from the hole in ground that leads down to the ruins and the ground gave out under both of them. I didn't trust ---- for a few days even with the ability to see SOULs. Then I realized something that I'd forgotten in my grief. Time has moved on Asgore. These aren't the humans that trapped us. Those humans, that war, that time... It's long gone." 

"I also realized that we've managed to become to monsters that they thought they locked under this mountain. Since our children's deaths, we've killed six humans and taken their SOULs." Tori crosses her arms across her chest and takes a deep breath. "Asgore, why didn't you let them live?" 

Asgore gulps and, suddenly, Sans isn't entertained by this anymore. It's gone from entertaining (a very vindictive part of him says enjoyable even) to something he knows that no one besides the king and queen should be apart of. They're all intruding on a very private moment between ex-lovers and, more importantly, parents. Tori may not have blamed him for the death of the prince and Chara, but she clearly blames him for the deaths of the other humans. 

"Tori, I just wanted to protect our people."  Yep, private moment. "I needed -" 

"er, i hate to interrupt, but if we're done trying to kill people today, i'd like to get ---- and frisk out of here." Asgore and Tori both look over at him, Tori looking thankful and Asgore looking embarrassed. 

"Of course," Asgore sounds thoroughly chastised, "my apologies everyone. We'll talk tomorrow."  

"Wrong! You won't!" Sans summons his magic, spinning to find the source of that voice. 

Flowey Iies before the barrier, the six human SOULs spinning around him, a smirk on his face. Flowey gives everyone a smile, a huge one like Sans is pretty sure he's never seen, and the six SOULs are absorbed into him. 

 Then just like that, all the hope that Sans has let build in him over the past nine months is extinguished like a flame in the rain. Whenever that fucking weed gets his vines on the human SOULs, there's a giant hole in his memory where he has no idea what happened. A hole that Frisk shares.  

"We aren't done trying to kill people trashbag. In fact, we're just getting started!"  

"The hell we are!" Undyne summons three spears, firing them with quick succession at the weed. Sans glances over at them, confused. Why was she automatically attacking Flowey? She couldn't know anything about him...? Then he sees the concern in her eye and the terror that is frozen on Alphys' face.  

Sans had always had his suspicions about the origins of this monster, but never any proof. Now he has it. Alphys had created Flowey. 

Speaking of Flowey, when Sans looks back over, he's gone. This is the first time (that he knows of) that he hasn't immediately trapped them. Is there a chance? There's a small laugh as Flowey reappears right where he was before. 

"Who are you?" Asgore's voice, returning to its authoritative regal pitch, calls out to Flowey.  

"You have to remember who I am. I'm not telling!" He winks at the king, who immediately re-summons his weapon. "It's my lucky day! The birds are singing, the flowers are blooming, and all of you are right here today." Sans stiffens. Flowey's words, so similar to his own, fill him with a sense of dread. 

This is the kind of new that Sans hates. They aren't being restrained. It reeks of a trap. Everyone else is getting ready to attack, except himself, you, Frisk, and Grillby. Grillby looks distracted. Frisk looks terrified. You're shaking even more than before. Sans snarls, his magic flaring again, ready to attack. 

"Now it's time for the usual song and dance, Frisk! This time, we just have a new partner.  Same rules though!We'll fight and fight and fight. If you win, you win freedom for all monsters. But you won't. See, your little friend there ended my game. So for revenge, I'm going to kill them!" 

" _Sans! Sis! I can't load!_ "The private thought sends chills into his nonexistent gut. What is going on?  

There's a giggle then. It's yours, but not your normal one. Instead of the warmth that he usually associates with your friendly giggle, this one is like dry ice on his very SOUL. It's not a sane laugh. 

“Did Asgore break you? What's your problem?” Flowey looks pissed that someone's stealing his limelight. This makes you laugh harder.  

Sans drops your hand and his magic, putting a hand on the center of your back. He's just about to ask what's wrong, when he thinks he feels his SOUL crack like yours. 

“Aw, you don't recognize me Asriel?” Asriel? The dead prince? How? Sans hears others gasping, Tori and Asgore making a sound that will give him nightmares. 

“How did you…?”  

“ _Sans, move!_ _Get Frisk and_ -“ Grillby's panic is cut off by him grasping at his chest again. 

“It’s me Asriel, your best friend.” You finally look up then, the tremors gone, to look at Flowey . 

He drops his hand from your back like you've burnt him. No. It can't be. 

Your eyes glance over at him, but they aren't your normal color; the color that he loves to look into to try and identify the different pigments in. They're red. 

Ruby red.  

Blood red. 

Red like the cracks in his SOUL. 

Red like determination. 

“What's the matter comedian? You didn't miss me?” 


	72. ...The Megalomaniac

Sans is frozen, rooted to the ground next to you. It can't be. It's impossible. He'd killed them. Eight Blaster beams, straight to the SOUL. The SOUL had been pink the last time he'd checked. They couldn't be back. 

Could they? 

The sadistic smile on your face widens. "No jokes? Aw, how cute. You actually thought that this was over! You actually care about this girl!" He can't move, can't breath, can barely process that this is real. You lean in close to the side of his skull. "Last time we met, you asked me how it felt to kill my own mother. Here's a question for you now. Can you kill your soulmate to stop me?" 

You pull away then and he knows it's true. He feels something inside him break and give up. Chara's back and rather than posessing Frisk, they'd got you. 

"So Asriel, we need to talk. You backed out on our plan." What can he do? He can't kill you. He doesn't have it in him. He – Frisk leans on him then and something snaps back into place.  

No. You wouldn't want him to give up. You would give him hell for even thinking about it with everyone still in danger. He needs to formulate a plan, he needs to observe, needs to find out what Chara wants. 

"Chara? Is it...? Is it really you?" Flowey's face shifts into the face of a young monster. That is Asriel. Holy shit. He glances over at Alphys and sees the shock on her face. No, she didn't know then. 

"Yes, it's me. I've been lying low this time around. Last timeline you see, they found my SOUL and tried to destroy it. I've been hoping that they'd lead me to it. It took forever, but ---- finally accidentally shared it's location last night." 

"Asriel? Chara? My children, alive? How is this possible?" Sans looks over towards Tori and Asgore and immediately regrets it.  She's no longer intimidating – they both look so lost and broken. 

"If this is a joke, it's a sick one." Asgore doesn't sound sure of anything. 

"Oh. Hi Mom. Hi Dad. Yeah, we're still alive. Even though Asriel backed out on his end, we're both still here. Me? I never left. That former Royal Scientist saw to that! Asriel is still alive because of _me_. There was still some of my power in his dust that grew into that first flower. When dear little Dr. Alphys picked it for her experiment, she accidentally brought him back. I gotta say Asgore, you really suck with picking your lead scientists."  

"So. Asriel. If you don't want me to kill you for revenge, because I swear to god I will, you'll help me out." 

The face of Asriel shifts back to Flowey again. "Kill me? HA! I have the six human SOULs! What could you possibly -?"  

He can't see your face, but he feels what happens next. Somehow, Sans has no idea how, Chara opens the void. One second there's nothing in your hand, the next there's knife in it that Sans knows all too well. He has scars from that knife. 

" _Chara no!"_ Chara doesn't listen to Frisk. Chara dives, slicing at Flowey. There's a sick squishing sound and a pop from the flower's body. 

"That's too bad." There's something oozing from Flowey now. Sans can't see what it is from his spot, but he knows instantly that Flowey's a goner. "You know, I usually keep slicing you 'til your dead, but ---- says that's rude. So I'll just let you bleed out this time." 

"---- was right..." Flowey (Asriel? Sans doesn't know what to call him) sounds weak already.  

Your name awakens something in Sans. "frisk. frisk, reset. don't load. reset." You wouldn't want this. Even if you're not in the underground in the next timeline, at least you wouldn't be held hostage in your own body. Maybe next time can be 'the last one'. No matter how they break the barrier, he'll find you. A soulmate is a soulmate and his is hurting. You're hurting and there's something that he can do. 

He looks down at Frisk and sees them concentrate. " _I can't."_  

"Nope!" He looks up at you to see Chara's grin on your face. "Sorry Frisk, but you're no longer the most determined person in the underground. That's me! Well, technically it's ----, but..." You start walking over to them and finally whatever spell was over everyone else snaps. With the exception of Asgore and Tori, everyone else summons their magic.  

That SOUL of yours is pulled free.The crack is still there, still the same size, but your SOUL is just red now. There's none of the other traits present in it, not even a small flash of anything else. All of the things that made you 'you' are gone.

"Attack me and you kill your friend," Chara uses your body to finally address everyone else. "Trust me, she's here. Ask the hothead." 

Grillby meets his sockets and nods. "----'s still in there. I can barely feel her, but..." The magic holding your SOUL drops it right then and there. 

"H-h-how c-can y-you-" Alphys starts to ask when Chara laughs. 

"All the things happening and you want to know why he can feel her? Your priorities are fucked." Chara's eyes flick back to him and Frisk as they keep walking forward. "You see, when Asgore went to kill her there was a split second –just one second- when she was so determined to save everyone here. In that second her determination to free everyone outweighed yours, Frisk. That second was just enough for me to finally take control of her, the way I've taken control of you countless times." 

" _You've been with her since the reset! You're the reason why she has nightmares and can’t remember them!"_  

"Bingo." Chara stops in front of the both of them, grin still on your face. "Now here's what is going to happen. I'm going to take you for a little field trip Frisk. I only know about where my SOUL is. ----'s being a huge pain and blocking me out of her memories. You know exactly where it is. You're going to take me there and we're going to get it." 

"and if i stop you?" Sans darkens his sockets, letting the threat become real. It's not you, he tells himself, it's not you. 

Chara laughs like he's just told the funniest joke ever as they slowly move the hand with the knife towards your throat.  "I'll kill her for you and then possess Frisk, grab my SOUL, and then kill Frisk. Then we'll all be dead. And if you or anyone else manages to kill me, you and I both know I'll just load." 

"you fucking-" 

" _I'll go. Willingly."_ Frisk gives him a pleading look. 

"What was that, Frisk? I'm afraid I can't hear you over ---- shrieking in my mind." God, you are trapped in there. What can he do? His hands are tied. He has no plan. 

"I s-said I'll g-go. W-willingly." Holy fuck. Frisk wasn't mute, their real voice cracks a few times, but is the same as the voice in his mind. Their eyes go to his. " _I'm so sorry, I..."_  

"Liar, liar, pants on fire Frisky. It took me ages to figure out that you could actually talk, but that you actively choose not to. You're so weak, so broken. Even then it wasn't worth using your voice since it's nearly gone from misuse alone." The cruel words coming from your mouth send hatred sparking down his spine. "I hope I don't have to use you again. It's kind of nice to be older and taller finally too."

You grab Frisk's arm then, Chara making you drag them away. He's frozen again.He can't move, can't speak, can barely think until the two of you are out of sight. 

"S-S-Sans. What w-w-was that?" 

Sans shakes his head. 

"Brother. What have you been hiding?"  

Sans didn't know he could feel any worse than he did. 

Grillby approaches then, eyes narrowed. He doesn't say anything. In one fluid motion, his friend draws his hand back and slaps Sans across the face. Sans feels the burn on his face, knows that if he had skin of any kind that there would be a serious burn there. He deserves it, he'd lost you and Frisk and- 

"Sans. Snap the fuck out of it now. Stop obsessing over what went wrong and come up with a way to get ---- and Frisk back. ----'s in there fighting for control again, but we have to help her do that. So. What can we do?"   

"i...i dunno." There's rumblings from everyone else, but Grillby silences them with the wave of a hand. 

" _Sans, you're the son of the second most_ _brilliant_ _man I've ever met. You're the first. No one knows SOULs like you._ _Pull_ _yourself together and think."_  

"i don't have the-" Time, he was going to say. He was going to say time before his sockets landed on the injured monster by the barrier. 

The injured monster that was letting himself die despite having six human SOULs within him. If he's dying even with them in there, that must mean that... He's given up on something. Or someone. From the sound of it that someone was Chara. 

He approaches the fallen prince, hoping that he's right. 

********************

 

This is hell. You're trapped in your own head, unable to move your body. Your body is still moving without you. Chara is making sure of that.  

No matter how loud you scream, yell, or shriek, Chara doesn't acknowledge you except a quiet echoing giggle. 

You understand Frisk's night terrors now. You're helpless, shoving at the corners of your mind, unable to even close your own eyes as you taunt the man you love, kill someone, and kidnap the kid that became your little sibling. Fuck, you've been dreaming of them for months and you couldn't even remember something that important!

Chara's using you to pull Frisk towards Hotland, taking the scenic route, not saying a word. You can feel the smugness in you. You –no, not you, Chara; Chara's getting something that they've been working towards for a long time.  

" _Just give up,"_ Chara whispers in your head. They sound so young without the static present.

You refuse.

********************

 

"you giving up already asriel?" Sans squats low to look over the wounded monster. It's a bad one. Fatal even. The scar on his sternum aches a bit just looking at it. Chara hadn't severed the stem, but they'd gone at least halfway through it. The slime pouring out of him is mostly clear, but has a red tint to it in some places. Determination maybe? 

"DON'T CALL ME THAT." Flowey coughs some of the slime up, spitting it on the ground next to him. "Asriel is dead. Dead, dead, dead. He died when Chara died." 

"my bad. you giving up already flowey?" 

"Why do you care?" 

"you kind of have the six human SOULs. if you plan on dying, you're gonna waste them." Sans doesn't often admire himself, but he's really proud of his self control right now. Thinking of the flower as a lost kid helps. 

"So? With Chara and Frisk here, I can't control time either. Chara will just load if you try and stop them."  

"you can control the timeline too?"  

"You really don't remember all those times?" Flowey picks himself up finally, a look that Sans instantly recognizes. Curiosity. "Then why have you never trusted me?" 

"no? you just always gave me a bad feeling, i dunno." 

A minorly psychotic grin flashes onto his faces before he winces. "Before Frisk fell, I could manipulate time. If you'd wanted to, it could have been you. Determination isn't just for humans, you know." Flowey winks. "But you know that, don't cha? You and I have killed each other a few times. I finally got bored and just let time keep going, but... Then Frisk fell."  

Sans shakes his head. More resets? There'd been more than he thought? Why couldn't he remember? No, not the time. He can't afford to feel lost now. "so why are you giving up?" 

"Chara. Your little friend was right. My Chara died years ago. That isn't the Chara I knew."  

Perfect. 

"how do you feel about getting even?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much dialogue. Many tedious.
> 
> Not wow.


	73. The Ties That Bind

"Chara! Wait up!"

  
Frisk, who already has their arms wrapped around their body, tightens their grip. You wish you could do that too. You know that voice. Well, at least you aren't a murderer yet.

  
Right on queue, Flowey emerges from the ground at Chara's feet. You're in Hotland, almost to the lab, when he returns from the dead.

  
"You're alive?" Chara's just as surprised as you are from the sound of it. Hearing yourself like this is strange. It's your voice, but not your voice. It's less stable sounding.

  
"I have the six human SOULs, silly! While they were yammering away over there, trying to think of a plan, I realized that you were right. I failed you Chara. I'm sorry." He makes a show of gulping, his face morphing to the face of a young monster again. "If you'll have me, I'll make it up to you."

  
"You don't deserve my forgiveness, weed." They sound like they mean it, but you feel the faint quiverings of doubt from within you. Or is it within them? You're a blur in your own body.

  
"Oh well. Keep marching on if you want to get mad then." He somehow uses his stalk to shrug.

  
" _What's happened?_ " Frisk sounds scared, but a lot less scared than you would be. Their gumption really is out of this world.

  
"Your weird brother-uncle-dad, the smiley trashbag himself, went and stole Chara's SOUL again. They'd rather risk the underground exploding than let you have it back Chara! That must be flattering."

  
"They _what?_ "

  
"You heard me. Now, I wanna make a deal with you. I have the power of six human SOULs at my disposal currently. I'll help you get yours back if you agree to put all of this behind us. Let's be best friends again. What do you say?"

  
This is too easy. Something's up. You squash your doubts down, hoping to keep them under Chara’s radar. It must work since you don't feel them mocking you. Either that or they're to distracted to care. Or they plan on finishing the job before Flowey can get them.

  
"Deal. Sorry Frisk, looks like we're turning around. Want to hitch a ride?" Chara reaches an arm out towards Flowey, who flashes Chara a million-dollar smile. Vines gently latch on to your arm and use it to pull himself out of the ground and up onto it. Chara gently pets his goldenrod petals and you feel a surge of affection from them. "I've missed you, Asriel."

  
"I've missed you too." Chara may not detect the insincerity in his voice, but you do.

  
*************

  
Chara's SOUL spins in its canister, a bright red again, in Sans hands. How had this happened? What had gone wrong?

  
Everyone else in the room, save for Grillby, is speechless. Sans had had to lie to everyone, say that he'd investigated the SOUL when you'd noticed it in the lab one day. The underground was powered by a human SOUL. Not just any human SOUL either, the human SOUL of the king and queens adopted human child from so long ago.

  
It had been almost too easy for him to take the SOUL. The benefits of being a a clone – the void magic holding the canister had been putty in his hands. The void that he senses in the SOUL....Nope, not gonna touch it. He has self control.

  
Everyone is digesting this with various degrees of disgust (and in Asgore and Tori's case, broken sobbing) except him and Grillby. Without having a body to shelter it, he senses the void magic that's now intertwined with it. It calls to him in a way. It begs him to touch it, to take this SOUL -

  
No Sans. He's not Gaster, he can contain his curiosity. He's not going to play with the psychopathic child's SOUL.

  
" _Couldn't you just use that...Blaster thing again? Melt it into oblivion?_ "

  
"i could do anything, but i don't think that that's a good idea. there's no way of knowing if destroying it actually destroys chara. for all we know, we destroy this and chara's stuck in ----'s SOUL."

  
" _Well, fuck._ " Sans agrees with the notion. What could they do? He'd sent Flowey out on his half-cocked plan. The flower hadn't even wanted revenge. He'd just wanted to "do the right thing, even in just one timeline". So using the SOULs, he'd allowed himself to heal before taking off.  
Sans knows that it could be a play, but he can't really bring himself to care right now. If it's an act, it's still the least of his problems.

  
How were six human SOULs less determined than Chara? How had they stayed hidden all these months? Sans shakes his head to clear it. These aren't the questions to ask right now. Focus on the task at hand, the goal, the future.

  
He really doesn't like that his inner voice sounds an awful lot like Gaster right now. There's too much morally dubious ground there. That voice is dangerous for him.

  
Focus goddammit.

  
He could just trade the SOUL. A SOUL for you and Frisk. Maybe Alphys could even make them a body like Mettaton's. No, that wouldn't work. He was the king's judge; he couldn't just give a long-dead creature a body, especially when said long dead creature was still willing to kill.

  
He could do what Gaster would do. Do that and then destroy the SOUL and Chara as soon as they were inside said body. That could work. It makes him feel sick to even consider it, but maybe it could work. He could just talk to Chara. Find out what they really want.

  
Would they talk to him? Hell, even if they would... Could he stomach talking to them?

  
"Sans?"

  
"'m thinking, grillbz." He groans. He needs to at least talk to Asgore and Tori, but from the look of it... Tori had sunken on to the ground as soon as Chara had left, curling up into herself. She's shaking, sobbing into her knees. Sans didn't know it from experience, but he knew what it was. A mother's love, biting her in the ass. Asgore is outwardly fairing better than her, but only just. He's standing, staring into the barrier.

  
They won't be any help. He shifts his attention back to his friends. Maybe, just maybe, he doesn't have to do this alone. Still holding the SOUL, he joins them. God, all these years of hiding this. Of secrets.

  
"S-Sans, why didn't y-you m-mention a S-SOUL?" Alphys is the first one to talk to him. His other friends had looked disgusted with him, except her and Papyrus. Papyrus look disgusted with the twinge of something even worse. Disappointment.

  
"what could we have done? it looked dead and removing it very well may have destabilized everything. that fucking generator is mostly for the lab, but a piece of it diverts to the CORE. if the CORE destabilized and it couldn't break the barrier, the best case scenario for us would have been our very own dark ages alph."

  
Alphys sighs and runs her fingers over her face, a habit he remembers her doing for the real complex research problems. "You're r-right. Still," she takes a step towards him and quickly grabs his arms, "you could have t-told me b-bonehead!" She gives him a shake and there's a glimmer of hope in his SOUL. This was the monster that he'd worked with for years, his friend. She's forgiven him already.

  
"any ideas alph?all of mine are... well, they aren't really something i want to do."

  
"P-probably the s-s-same as mine then."

  
"So, question. Why can't we just use the SOUL to break the barrier?" Undyne comes up behind Alphys, wrapping an arm around her.

  
"Where have you been, Undyne? Seriously," Mettaton snaps his attention from Papyrus to the three of them. "That stupid flower took the other SOULs."

  
"Well, why can't one of us use it to go to the other side?" When Mettaton scoffs at her idea, Undyne puffs up to the challenge. "No, really. We need to go on the offensive!"

  
"NO. UNDYNE, I DON'T THINK THAT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA." Papyrus glances towards the boss monsters, thinking. Sans knows this look well – the puzzle look. He's piecing things together, seeing how they fit, if they fit. No doubt Papyrus is going to see through his bullshit and call him on it.

  
Papyrus looks from the SOUL in his hands to his face. He knows. Instead of calling him out, Papyrus comes closer, pulling Mettaton with him, so that the six of them are huddled close. "There's so much hate in that human spirit or whatever it is. Taking the SOUL would just end up with death, I think."

  
"Brother, I think you need to have one of those things ready to attack it, but we need to see what this Chara wants."

  
"You trust that fucking flower Papyrus?" Trust Undyne to ask the one question that everyone is thinking.

  
"NOT AT ALL. NOW, WE NEED TO PREPARE IN CASE OF A BATTLE! I think we may need to protect the Asgore and the shaved Asgore clone." Even with the tension in the air, everyone laughs at that.   
Everyone's beginning to practice their magic (conveniently forming a barrier between the entrance and the king and queen) when Papyrus approaches him. When Sans looks up from the SOUL, Papyrus isn't looking at him. He's enchanted by the SOUL in his hands.

  
"Do you feel it?" Papyrus finally looks away from it.

  
"feel what?" Papyrus' sockets narrow at him, daring him to lie. "yes.i hoped you wouldn't even able to, to be honest."

  
Maybe it's the lack of pun, but Papyrus' face softens. "Brother, I know you're lying. I don't know why and I don't care. Just, one day, can you tell me what's really happening here?"

  
"one day, i will. i promise."

 

* * *

  
"They're almost here," Grillby speaks up maybe ten minutes later. Huh, they were moving fast. His words stop the fighting and snap Tori out of her trance. She stands again, wiping tears from her fur on the way up. "Your highness, you shouldn't-"

  
"No, I need answers." He tone offers no room for argument. She looks to Asgore then and he recognizes the looks of deep thought. He saw it months ago now, when Grillby used his bond to you to find you and Frisk. "Asgore?"

  
Asgore stiffens at his name. "You're right. I'm sorry everyone. I just never expected any of this -" He stands tall again, summoning strength that Sans has never seen before. It's Tori. She's used her bond with him, even partially broken as it may be, to pull Asgore back from whatever dark place he had gone. "We need to stop this."

  
"Well, well, well. Gang's still all here. I would have thought that some of you would have at least ran for cover."

  
Sans tightens his grip on the canister in his hands. Chara's back.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mentioned it on my tumblr the other day, but my goddamn computer charger is deader than dead. Everything I'm doing is mobile. I should be able to borrow a tablet soon (maybe even tonight!) up until I get the hookup with a newer computer. 
> 
> Anyway, I swear there's a point to this. If anyone is on a computer can tell me if the formatting of this chapter is super screwy so I can (try) and fix it, I'd really appreciate it!


	74. The End of the World

"That's mine, by the way." Sans watches as Chara uses your body to point at the SOUL in his hands. "God, it's been centuries since I've seen it."

  
"should keep a better eye on your things then."

  
"Listen here you fucker, you know damn well that -"

  
"i know, i know. my dad was a bastard. trust me, i know."

  
"Heh, you don't know the half of it comedian." The look your face becomes damn near demonic as Chara slinks closer, Flowey on one arm, Frisk's arm gripped in that hand. "In fact, why don't I enlighten you?"

  
"What do you want, freak?" Chara shoots Undyne a glare.

  
"Hush before I scatter you in the wind for the... Oh man, I've forgotten how many times I've killed you." Chara's red eyes flick back to him, ignoring Undyne's sputtering. "You know the determination experiments, right?"

  
"better than anyone."

  
"Determination exists in small doses in all humans as you know. SOULs like mine and Frisk are pure determination. I inspired your dear father to start those experiments."

  
"get to the point."

  
"Well, I gave a batch of DT as you call it when I was alive. Gaster injected it directly into himself. After he showed me the changes that just one dose did, I gave another batch. He didn't immediately use that one. He stored it for future use. After I died, well... He used that DT to play with."

  
"Don't look at me like that, I'm getting to the point. Some three-ish centuries later, he had two sons. One of which he decided to inject with DT. Now, it had to be special for his boy." Your grin nearly splits your face then and you lean close again. "That DT of yours? That's mine. Not just any old DT of mine. Ever wonder why you can remember? It's not just that you have DT, it's that you have some of the last remaining DT that I gave when I was alive."

  
Sans feels a wave of nausea bubble up in him. That's why he can remember. He's always chalked it up to the determination. He's never spared a thought to where the determination came from. Ever.

  
"It's a shame that that batch was given willingly and used after I died. Otherwise I could have driven you mad too."

  
"i think you've done a pretty good job of that without any extra help." It takes every ounce of everything he is to keep his voice even. "so what do you want?"

  
"To free everyone of course. And I do mean everyone." Chara winks at him and he feels like he's missing something huge, a huge piece of this mystery, of this puzzle. He wishes he had his brother's mind for catching the missing pieces right now. "Frisk has just never managed."

  
"SO WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?" Papyrus is walking closer (god, no Papyrus, stay away!).

  
"Break the barrier. It's kind of complicated, but I do have a plan. Asriel will hold my SOUL, I'll take Frisk, ---- will get what she wants by being the one to break the barrier along with the other SOULs, and Asriel will put my original SOUL into this body so that I can have a body."

  
"What do you say, comedian? No more death. Well, no more death than planned anyway."

  
"Chara, my child." Asgore steps forward. He moves quickly, winding up beside Sans in only a few footfalls. "Chara, I've missed you. You and Asriel. But you aren't meant to be alive. You both died in a freak accident."

  
"Accident? You can't be serious. An accident?"

  
"Stoppit Chara." When Chara doesn't pay attention the first time, Flowey repeats himself and Chara winces. His vines and roots, wrapped around your arm still, tighten like a vice.

  
"flowey if you-"

  
"Shut it Trashbag. Before we move on, where was my happy ending in all that Chara?"

  
"You'd get to come to the surface too. Ow, Flowey, let go! That hurts!"

  
Flowey's face melts into that demonic specter again, his voice distorting. "That's it? Really? Without a single SOUL, how would I even enjoy it?" Flowey gives him a look that he can only describe as mocking. "Sorry Trashbag, I lied."

  
In the span of maybe three seconds, Flowey tightens his vines as he loosens his roots. Chara screams in agony as Flowey drops gracefully into the ground. Taking advantage of Flowey's attack, Frisk breaks free, running past him and into Tori's arms. Once the blurred motion is over, Sans sees red. You're bleeding.

  
Revenge. He'd wanted revenge. The marks on your arm look similar to the marks on his SOUL, a sick coincidental pattern left by his foliage. The blood is pouring down your arm, the wounds cut deep and, in places, cut to the muscle.

  
Flowey reappears a short distance away, a smile back on his face. "You see Chara, I have determination in me too. I remember too. Not like the Trashbag, sure, but I remember. How many times, Chara?"

  
Your face is pale, a sweat that wasn't there a few minutes ago casting a sheen on you. Fuck, you've lost a lot of blood."How many times what Asriel?"

  
"How many times have you killed me? How many times have I begged for forgiveness only to have you deny it? ---- was right." Flowey exaggeratedly clears his throat. "'YOU WERE DEAD! THEY PRETENDED TO STRIKE ME IN ORDER TO CATCH YOU OFF GUARD!WHAT'S THAT SAY ABOUT YOUR FRIEND?'"

  
That was your voice.

  
"As annoying as having everyone love her is, she was right. You're dead. The Chara that I've been looking for is dead." He scoffs. "The saddest part is look how much time I've wasted waiting for them! Reset after reset, waiting for you. Trying to trigger a reset that would bring you back to the surface."

  
"Even in this timeline, convincing Dad to go to Snowdin himself. Impersonating fishguts over there, getting those two stupid guards to go to the ruins. Even pretending to be Mom! All for you! Do you care? Do you appreciate it? No."

  
Sans feels a pulse of magic that he knows. He recognizes the feeling. It's the last thing he knows before there's a giant hole in his memory. Everything goes foggy and there's the tugging at his SOUL.

  
No. Not this! Not again!

  
He feels a magic, a magic more powerful than he's ever felt, pulling at his SOUL roughly.

  
He refuses to go.

  
He's too determined.

  
There's a few more seconds of the yanking, fuck it hurts so bad, but he refuses to go. As soon as he thinks he's going to break, that he's going to crumble into dust, the feeling is gone.

  
Sans opens his sockets again and he's still where he was, still holding that SOUL. The room is much emptier than it was before.

  
" _Sans!_ " Frisk is on him before he can take in his surroundings.

  
"Sans. What's going on?" Grillby sounds lost. Join the club.

  
"Finally." That's a new voice. In front of the barrier, there's a small goat monster. It must be Asriel.

  
"Asriel," there's your voice. Chara's on their knees, facing away from him. They're looking at the monster child in front them.

  
"I was so tired of being a flower." Asriel looks up at Chara before his eyes dart back to the three of them, a smirk appearing on his face. "Looks like we have company Chara."

  
"Huh?" Chara looks over their shoulder. "How are you two still here? That isn't possible." Your brows furrow. "Ah, of course. Determination. Congratulations on finally finding the nerve to use my determination comedian."

  
There's another shift in the air and Asriel isn't a kid anymore. Holy fuck. He's grown. He's almost as tall as Asgore, wearing something just like Tori's robes. There's a heart-shaped locket around his neck and pauldrons on his shoulders.

  
All in all, he's a scary looking motherfucker.

  
"Perfect. I'll kill all of you and take total control of the timeline. I'll be the most determined one of you all! You first, Chara."

  
Panic fills every crevice of Sans as your SOUL is pulled free. He looks at your SOUL and, no, you can't take much damage. His attack on your arm really hurt you.

  
"You can try. Bring it Asriel! You're too much of a coward to kill me!"

  
Asriel doesn't answer, he just summons his fire magic that his family possesses and lazily shoots it at Chara. Even hurt, your body is quick enough to dodge.

  
" _Asriel, please! That's not Chara!_ "

  
“I know. But right now, all three of you have that ‘determination’ and I need it gone.”

  
Before any of them can blink, Asriel is floating in the air effortless and the barrier is no longer just black and white. It's a rainbow of colors, Sans is pretty sure that he's never seen that many colors before, shifting before his eyes. There's no pattern, no direction.

  
“Or is it four of you?”

  
Asriel strikes at Chara again and he knows he needs to step in. He wraps the canister in his magic and pulls it under his elbow.

  
“frisk, stay with grillbz. grillbz, protect frisk." 

  
“Now Chara, you're going to die. Then maybe I’ll reset.” Asriel summons two swords and slashes towards you. Chara dodges once, twice, and the third one is cutting it close. Sans makes his move then. He rushes forward and grabs your list, easily pulling you out of the way.

  
“What the – Oh, this is rich. You think you can save the day?” Asriel goes to strike again and Sans shortcuts this time. A quick trip through the void and your body is safe.

  
Well, sort of. That cut still looks bad. “you should eat something chara. i want that body and the person it belongs to back unharmed.”

  
“You have jokes,” Chara pulls out of his grasp and sounds strained. “Now butt out. And if you take me through the void again the last thing you’ll see before you turn to dust is ---- putting a knife through your sternum.”

  
He sees Chara’s gaze flick to their SOUL. You were quicker than Frisk, but he’s still faster. Unfortunetly for Chara he knows their fighting style and yours. He shortcuts out of the way before they can even look back.

  
As soon as he touches down he hears you get the wind knocked out of you. Asriel had knocked you on your back. He steps closer, pulling some sort of gun out now, and Sans focuses in on the void.

  
Sans pulls Medusa out with no effort. Medusa nudges at his mind and he lets her in. He feels her surge of anger at today’s turn of events. It's almost strong enough to match his own.

  
Unlike Frisk’s odd link with everyone else, his connection to the Blasters wasn’t optional. Every thought of his is shared with them. Sometimes it's annoying, but times like this…  
It's nice to not need to explain what's going on. There’s the gently prodding at his mind as she catches up on what’s happened. He feels her anger mesh with his. The others? Not yet, he doesn't know what Asriel can do. Medusa opens her jaws and aims at Asriel, prepared to attack. Perfect.

  
Asriel chuckles. “Do you really think I'm afraid of your little pets?”

  
Medusa’s anger at that is his own too. The ‘ok’ registers and she releases her energy in a beam at Asriel. He dodges. The echoing of her attack missing taunts her.

  
‘next time. we were just seeing what he could do this time.’

  
“Why are you defending them? After everything that they’re responsible for? Everything they've done to you?”

  
“The same reason that it's taken you this long to turn on me. _Love_.” Chara spits out the word like it’s poison on their tongue. Humans are so resilient. How are you still standing?

  
“Love? Sans, you _are_ an idiot. If Chara dies, and if you destroy that SOUL at the same time that I destroy this body than I'm pretty sure they will, and Frisk keeps their promise than this ends.”

  
“Aw, Asriel. Wish you would have told me you were sick of our game.” Chara –no, you cough. It's wet sounding so he spares you a glance. You've coughed up blood, and yes it's you since it’s your body.

  
That's an internal injury for humans right?

  
He needs to end this now.

  
“no.”

  
“Too bad,” Asriel grins. “Let's see what all this determination can really do.”

  
There's another shift in the air, but this one is all too familiar. It's the void. Without a second thought, even despite Chara’s threats, Sans shortcuts to Chara and then next to Grillby and Frisk. As a precaution he keeps Medusa with him.

  
Chara doesn't fight it at all.

  
Out of the void, Asriel calls forth a Blaster. It's huge, larger than Medusa. He feels the surprise and fear in his head. It looks more goat like, but it's still a skull.  
It laughs, a maniacal sound that sends fear shooting through his SOUL. Before it opens its maw and pulls.

  
The same pulling feeling again and his vision goes white.

  
“Still hanging on?”

  
His vision comes back in a rush. Shit. Just when he thinks things can't get any worse.

 

 

 

 


	75. Hopes and Dreams

Asriel looks more like a weapon than a monster. His body is covered in black metallic looking armor in some places, white pearlescent in others. Rainbow ‘wings’ extend from behind him. There's another stab of terror in Sans’ SOUL.

"Are you ready Chara? Ready to finish this? Or should we start over?”

“Sans we need to finish this now. ---- is fading in there.” Grillby tightens his grip on Frisk.

"I'm right here,” Chara snaps. You look even worse than before. “You wouldn't end this.”

The only answer is laugh as he pulls the your SOUL and Frisks’ free. Him and Grillby must not matter to Asriel since the energy flares he sends out ignore the two of them. Chara and Frisk aren't so lucky.

Frisk is quick, dodging all of them with ease. Chara does too, minus the ease. “You're getting slower Asriel. Usually you're faster.” Chara’s voice is taunting even weak.

Wait a second. Chara can remember the good timelines?

"Am I now?”

He attacks again, but this time he goes for a third target. A target that's still in the crook of Sans’ elbow.

He moves, easily dodging the rays even without magic. In a sick way he has Chara to thank for that. When the onslaught ends Asriel looks positively murderous.

“nice try asriel.” Sans resists the strong urge to taunt him. To make jokes. To try and get in his head and under his skin. It's tempting, but it won't get him what he needs.

“Comedian, I swear to- Don't let my SOUL get hit. If I die, your soulmate dies too.” Chara spits some blood out again. “The determination that I’m holding in place is the only thing keeping her standing right now.”

There's no lie present in their voice or in their eyes.

“how does this usually end chara?”

Asriel doesn't give them time to answer, raising his arms to release more energy rays. They only go for him now though, even faster than before. “Drop the SOUL and you'll be safe Sans!”

“chara!”  
  
“Fine, fine. Frisk, you usually call for your friends memories from inside Asriel. Although with you two out here I don't know how that’ll work.”

“Frisk, try!” Grillby beats him to the punch. Asriel attacks again, but Grillby is on it. His flames form a shield and absorb the impact.

“ _I can't feel anyone._ ”

More differences? Why was this timeline so different? You? No. This was bigger than just you.

"This is the end. Give up. I have the six human SOULs and the SOULs of all of your friends. What can you possibly do?” Asriel smiles, showing off a mouth full of sharp teeth that a goat monster shouldn't have. “It's your turn Chara. Give up. Beg for a reset. Beg for mercy.”

“Heh. I thought I was a demon. You're just as bad as I am.” Chara smirks, blood trickling from the corner of your mouth. “Turns out we’re both SOUL-less demons now. Still siblings after all this time.” Chara, even with the wound dripping blood, strikes at Asriel.

They miss of course. Wait a second.

SOUL-less.

Just like that he has an idea. A spark. If If he's wrong, what's the worst that can happen? A reset? Death? But if he’s right it could change everything.

What if Chara wasn't SOUL-less anymore?

The scientist in Sans wants to wait,to plan, to think about it just a little more, but there's no time to do that. You're fading fast and even if you weren’t, none of them could take down a child in a powerful form made by six human SOULs and the ones of everyone else in the underground. It's a dangerous game of cat and mouse and for once, Chara’s prey just like everyone else.

So he goes against everything he said he’d never do. Fuck the consequences. He does what Gaster would do.

An enemy of his enemy is his friend.

Sans lets his magic pool in his left hand and he, with no more than a seconds hesitation, shatters the container that houses Chara’s SOUL.

“Sans? Why?” Frisk sounds terrified.

“Sans what the fuck did you just do?” So does Grillby.

Chara’s eyes widen once they realize what the shattered glass meant. Asriel rushes towards him, towards another human SOUL, and Sans doesn't resist taunting him this time.

“i thought you said you’d gone against me before?” Sans grasps the SOUL with his magic and turns it blue.

“Why you-“ Whatever Sans is, he doesn't hear. There's another moment of temptation to touch the void-infused SOUL that he ignores, choosing to throw it towards Chara.

Asriel stops in his tracks, eyes narrowing at Chara. God, he hopes he isn't going to regret this. Chara extend their arms and he stops their SOUL at their outstretched hands.

“What are you going to do with that Chara? Humans can't touch magic and SOULs are just that. Magic.”

Chara has a childlike wonder in their eyes. They're clearly ignoring Asriel, not even hearing a word that he’s saying. “It’s been so long.”

“chara?” They’re still staring at their SOUL. He tries again. “chara?” This time red eyes snap up towards him. “what do you me want to do?”

He can't believe he’s doing this.

“Nothing except let go.” Sans nods and drops their SOUL. If it goes wrong, well, at least he won't have to live with this mistake from the look of it.

Your SOUL is still out, the black crack still the same, still filled with determination. Chara’s determination fueled SOUL is the same red and next to yours, Sans can see the void pulsing in it. Twin SOULs in a way, he figures. The void present in both of them, but… Why?

“Your move Chara. I can't wait to get two SOULs out of you.”

Chara’s face fills with glee. They step forward, your SOUL meshing with theirs. Fury fills Sans – that was yours. He shivers and shakes it off. There's nothing he can do. Not like this.

“ _Sans why?_ ” Frisk is next to him now, their hand grabbing his.

“Yeah, what are you thinking?” Grillby grabs his shoulder.

“i’m not. not really. i just wanted to shake things up.”

“Well, mission accomplished. Things are shaken up.” Sans can't stop the smile that flashes onto his face – typical Grillby. Even in mortal peril, there's the sass.

“That they are.” Chara smiles over at the three of them, a smile without malice. It's weird.

The SOUL in front of them is a deep red, the crack in it wider than it was before. The sight makes Sans SOUL hurt.

“Heya Az.” Their hateful voice isn't hateful anymore. There's peace in it. Peace and remorse. If he’s caught off guard, that's nothing compared to Asriel. The boy visibly flinches.

“What kind of trick is this?”

“No trick. I haven't had my own SOUL for years. Now I do. God, Az, I'm so sorry it's turned into this.” Sans barely swallows back his surprise and doubts. “Borrowed SOULs aren't exactly the same as your own.”

“Sorry? Why are you sorry? We’re still around!”

“Because we shouldn't be. I was so angry when I died and I blamed you for everything. I was too angry to rest like I should have. And we’ve paid for that. Everyone has paid for that.”

“But our game-“ Asriel sounds like the child that he really is now.

“Is one that I never really wanted to play. I was forced to and so were you.”

Asriel’s body crumbles to dust. Well, most of it. The killing machine is gone, in its place is the small child again. Sans feels sympathy. These two were children. It didn't make up for what they'd done, but it did put it into perspective.

If it would have been him and Paps as kids, wouldn't he do anything to stay with him?

“Chara?” Asriel sniffles.

“Let's end this Az.” Chara’s gaze flickers to the three of them now. “I'm so sorry. I know it's not enough, but I am. Frisk, to you especially. Sans, I-“

“there’s nothing you can say to me chara.” No words will ever make up for what they've done.

“I know.” Chara turns back to Asriel. “Az, I'm tired. So tired. I've been trapped for centuries. It’s over for me. Take my SOUL Az. Take my SOUL and free everyone. That's all I ever wanted. It's what I died for the first time.”

Chara limps forward, collapsing to their knees after a few steps. Before Sans can rush forward, Asriel does.

“Chara-“

“Take my SOUL, Az. Free everyone. Make it so we didn't die in vain. Can you do that?”

“I can. Can I… Can I come with you?”

Chara smiles. “If it's your time.”

Chara looks over to him again. “When this happens, you'll need to move fast. My determination is the only thing holding her upright right now.”

************

Dying. You're going to die. There's no way you're going to survive this. You had no idea how Chara has kept you on your feet this long.

Ha, at least your training was good for something.

You're fading already actually. There’s a fizzing feeling at the edges of your mind, a blankness that's creeping on your consciousness. It's because of sheer stubbornness that you're even here still. You want to see them get out of this.

You need to know that they’ll be safe before you give into the increasingly welcoming darkness. Chara may be in control, but the pain is still yours to feel.

“ _\----?_ ” Chara’s voice is low and private in your head. You don't have the strength to answer.

“ _I feel you there. Listen, you're going to live as long as you hold on. Keep some of that determination._ ”

HA.

“ _I'm sorry. I really am. I'm even sorrier that this isn't over ----. Do you remember the dreams with me in them now?_ ”

Yes. You remember most of them now. Not all of them, but most. Well, the sort of dreams. Your body may have been asleep, but part of your SOUL had been tied to Chara’s in the void.

“ _Very good. I can't tell you who, they won't let me, but this is just the beginning. Remember my warnings?_ ”

Yep. Beware of the man who speaks in hands. Beware of the man from the other world.

“ _Good. Stay determined._ ”

You don't know if you have the strength to.

************

When Chara’s SOUL separates from yours, there's no more void intertwined with it. It's red, just like Frisk’s again. Sans doesn't see your SOUL go back into your body, but it does. He’s too busy watching Asriel.

Sans is prepared for a sudden change in Asriel again. He’s ready for Asriel to take Chara’s SOUL and return to the weaponized form of his for the two other human SOULs.

He doesn't. For a moment, the young goat monster just cradles the SOUL in his hands. After a long and silent moment, he presses the tip of his snout to the center of it – a kiss. Then he pulls it into his chest.

Here it comes.

Or doesn't?

“I'm not going to hurt you or go back on my word. I...I can feel again because of everyone.” Asriel extends his arms –much less menacing with him a child- and a look of extreme concentration crosses his face.

What happens next, Sans has no clue. There's an energy in the air, an ancient magic that he can almost taste, when he feel something big shatter.

The barrier maybe?

Once the air stabilizes, Asriel looks tired. “That's it. In a few more minutes... I'll be a SOUL-less flower again. You guys should just leave me behind. Let me stay down here.”

“Asriel…”

“No.” Grillby steps towards the small monster. “You'll come with me if you don't want to go with your parents. I lost a son once. SOUL-less or not, maybe I can have another one.”

“yeah, you're not going to be alone this time.” He goes back to watching you. You're still conscious, in the exact position that Chara left you in. He's afraid to touch you, afraid to cause you more pain.

Asriel smiles and tears prickle at the edges of his eyes. “T-thank you. So Chara and I have one last gift for you. They couldn't do it by themselves, but with all the others… For everyone else but us, it’ll be like I just appeared there. That's all they’ll remember. No memory of Chara or of me being, well, me.”

Frisk runs forward to hug Asriel. Sans can't stop the smile. It’s over. If Frisk doesn't reset, it's finally over.

You collapse then. You fall boneless fall forward.

“shit!" Sans runs to your side, not wanting to risk taking his eyes off you. There's so much blood and your breathing is shallow.

He’s watching you die.

“Sans, move.” Grillby’s voice is a controlled panic.

“no.”

“For the love of – move! I need you to hold her down.” What? Sans’ confusion must show. “I know a thing or two about human wounds. What's about to happen is going to be horrendous, but you have to fight through it.” Grillby moves you, rolling you onto your back.

Him? What on earth could be so bad for him?

“Frisk, come sit on her legs. Sans?” He shakily reaches for your upper arms and holds you down. “I'm sorry, ----. Hang on.”

Sans doesn't get it. Grillby sighs and presses his hands to your arms.

***********

It's quiet in your head again. It makes sense, you suppose. You haven't been truly alone in over six months apparently. Now here you are.

Your eyes are open, but everything is blurry. There's Sans. Frisk and Grillby too. Well, at least you won't die alone.

There's a warmth in your SOUL – Grillby again. It's not as soothing as it has been before. Instead it's energetic, poking at you. It tells you to hang on.

Ha. At this point you don't think you have a choice in the matter.

“I'm sorry, ----. Hang on.”

Pain comes next. Fuck! It's like nothing you've ever felt. Your arm is burning. There's pain and a scent in the air that makes you want to puke. Dying hadn't hurt so bad the last time.

Burning flesh. That's the smell. Grillby is trying to cauterize the wound with his hands. He should stop - you've lost too much blood for it to make a difference. Even if you hadn't, one of Asriel’s attacks probably had broken a rib.

A piece of rib in your lung would at least explain the blood in your mouth.

Then just as suddenly as the pain starts, it stops. The weight that was holding you down is gone.

You can hear them calling for you. Calling you back. You want to let them know that you’re going to be fine. It's fine. You're fine with this. Your vision is still blurry, but in the distance you can see Asriel.

He’s watching you. Well maybe not you, but he's looking over towards you all. You try and smile over at him. He’s going to be fine too.

A giant yellow blob floats over to him. A butterfly maybe? It's the last thing you see before your vision finally fades to black.

In the darkness, you can smell the sweet scent of flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, this is it. Tomorrow's the last chapter of part two. 
> 
> This entire chapter was iPhone. Ughhh.


	76. New Beginnings

Just like the last time when you start to come to, everything hurts. There's a sickly sweet smell around you again -flowers. Goddamn flowers. You’re laying on a bed of flowers again. The scent of them is giving you a headache.

Had Frisk reset? God, you hope not. You don't have it in you to do this again. At least this time you remember everything at first. That's got to be a good thing, right?

The pain flares as soon as your body recognizes that you're conscious. _Sonofabitchthisfuckinghurts!_ Your arm feels like it's been smothered in lava. Your chest feels like it's been partially crushed. All in all, it feels like you've been hit by a goddamn freight train. With every breath it feels like there's a knife in your chest, poking at your lungs.

Death might be more merciful.

" _\----? Sis! She’s awake!_ ” You wince at Frisk’s voice in your head. Slowly you let your eyes open again. God, it hurts. Frisk is in front of you, taking up most of your field of vision. From what you can see, you can see you aren't in the ruins. “How are you feeling?”

“Hurting.” Eloquent---, very eloquent. “What’d I miss?” There's a choked sob from above you. You know that voice.

You twist a bit, ignoring the pain as best you can. Sans. You're propped up on his summoned lap, the lights of his eyes hazy and focused on you.

“----.” His fingers find yours and squeeze tightly.

“Did we do it?”

“mhmm. that demon ended up doing the right thing in the end. we’re free.”

You smile and Sans eyes brighten and focus again. Free. The barrier was broken. “So why are we all still here?”

“you. well, mostly.”

“Mostly?”

“ _Oh thank god. I'm so sorry._ ” Grillby comes from somewhere else in the room, kneeling next to you. “ _Have some monster candy. It’ll help you feel better at least_.”

You don't miss the glare that Sans gives Grillby when he puts the food in your mouth. It isn't jealousy, it's darker than that. Hatred? What the hell had happened?

As soon as you swallow it, you instantly feel stronger. The pain in your chest and arm fade to just a dull ache. It’s much more manageable and you're able to think more clearly again.

“what do you remember?”

“Everything, I think. It got kind of hazy there towards the end, but I don't think I lost anything. Why?”

“ _Chara and Asriel somehow did a load in a way. Besides us, no one remembers Chara or that Flowey was actually Asriel._ ” Grillby’s answer makes you feel even better.

“That's probably a good thing,” you mumble. Definitely a good thing. Asgore and Tori didn't need to remember that. When you glance back up at Sans, he’s staring at your arm. Curious, you lift it up so you can see it.

Ah, that explains why Sans is so pissed off.

There's a brand new blister on your arm, one that's rapidly scarring thank god, angry red lightning-esque lines healed by your friend over the initial damage from Flowey. Speaking of the devil, where is he?

“Where’s Flowey?”

“heh, you aren't going to believe this.”

“ _It's the best news!_ ” Frisk’s excitement shows on their face as Sans slowly helps you sit up.

Holy fucking shit.

In your delirium, you hadn't noticed the background noises in the room. In a corner of this cave, Tori and Asgore are hugging. Wait a second here, what? Doesn't Tori essentially hate his guts?Why would they be hugging? Then you see the reason why.Between the king and former queen was a small goat monster.

Asriel.

“we don't know how it happened.”

“I think I do,” you whisper. “I saw something before I blacked out.” That yellow blob hadn't been a butterfly. Not even close. It was one of the human SOULs, returning after breaking the barrier.

Justice.

Chara got to rest and Asriel got to live again.

“I saw the yellow SOUL come back to him.”

You turn to look at Sans, watching him digest this as he peers into Asriel’s new SOUL as much as he can. “the yellow – oh. well i’ll be damned.”

“Frisk, let's go, uh, let them know that ---- is awake.” Before Frisk can complain, Grillby pulls them away from you.

“now no bullshit. how are you really feeling?” For a change, you nuzzle him.

“Ha, I don't know what I'm feeling.” Before he can say anything else, you want to ease his mind. “Sans, don't be mad at Grillby. He did the right thing. He probably saved my life by closing my wounds.”

“really? from the sounds you were making i thought he was killing you.”

"Really. I don’t know how it works exactly, but burning wounds can help stop the bleeding and close them. Obviously it's not the ideal.”

"god you humans are fucked up.” He sounds like he’s in awe of it as his arms nervously wrapping around you. “fuck i thought i’d lost you.”

“Well you didn't.” You need to tell him about seeing his dad. You can't hide this from him. Unlike every other time, you won't put this off. “Sans something happened –“

“Oh, my friend! You're awake!” Tori spots you. “Look at this miracle! My son! My Asriel!” Asriel peers over at you from under her chin, fear written all over his face.

You give them both your biggest smile. “That's fantastic! How'd that happen?”

“We don't know. It must have something to do with you and Frisk. Er, ----. My sincerest apologies for earlier.” Asgore gives you a soft smile as Tori glares daggers at him over Asriel’s head.

It's going to take a long time to get over what happened today. Forgiving Asgore comes easier than you thought it would. This wasn't a mass murderer, killing for pleasure. This was a man doing what he thought was best. A king doing his duty.

Still, you don't really want to ever be alone with him.

Asriel? That would be tougher. Flowey wasn't someone to be trusted. You're pretty sure that you have the scars on your back to prove it and even if those aren't there, you now have one giant new one on your arm. With or without a SOUL, he knew what he was doing. He knew about the timelines.

Shit, your arm.

“----, what happened to your arm?” Tori gives you her best matronly tone, the one that dares you to lie.

“I can't remember.” Good thing you aren't scared of dares. It's probably also a good thing that the scared Asriel (still tucked under Tori’s chin) was adorable.

Oh goody, maybe it won't be so hard to forgive the (hopefully) former psychotic SOUL-less flower. What does it say about you that you're already forgiving him for being cute?

You lean back into Sans, letting him comfort you and himself while Tori lectures you on being clumsy.

“So, um, where’d the others go?” You want to change to subject before you accidentally let it slip that no, you know exactly what happened to you.

“They went to let everyone know about the barrier. They insisted on letting me spend time with my son.” Asgore doesn't even look over at you. The way he looks at Tori and Asriel is heart-wrenching. It's like he’s afraid if he looks away that they’ll both be gone again.

“well, sort of tell everyone.” Sans voice is low in your ear, just like it was at the lab a few days ago. “mettaton went to grab batteries and camera equipment, paps went to grab some of our stuff, and i’m pretty sure the girls just wanted some time together.”

You're kind of jealous of Undyne and Alphys right now. Apparently near death experiences were an aphrodisiac because you could really use a few minutes alone with Sans.

Now’s not the time ----. Chill.

“what's wrong?”

“So. What'd you want to see first?” You're not going to admit that you were thinking about a quickie in the cathedral looking room. Nope. That's going to the grave with you.

“uh. i dunno.”

 

* * *

 

By the time everyone is alerted and your friends are back it's hours later. You're strong enough to move again, arm now completely scarred over and apparently broken rib mended down to a bruise. Even after eating more magic based food the metallic taste in your mouth is still there.

Of all the things, it's the taste that reminds you that what had happened was real.

Sans, Grillby, and Frisk all keep looking at you like they're waiting for you to break. It's coming, you know it is, but you'll hold it together at least until you won't be the center of attention of everyone. Asriel seems to be looking everywhere but at you which helps a bit.

“Is everyone ready?” Asgore looks over the group of you. None of the other monsters were here yet, but everyone was too anxious to see the surface to wait any longer.

“YES!” Papyrus’ bones are quaking in excitement, Undyne having to physically restrain him from running ahead.

“Undyne, let Papyrus go,” Asgore scolds her. “Someone needs to go first!”

“And it's gonna be me! Race ya, punk!” Undyne pulls him backwards by his collarbone before bolting ahead.

“Cheater!”Mettaton rushes after the two of them, Alphys giving you a friendly smile and eye roll before following with Grillby.

“W-wait up!”

Tori and Asgore don't go yet, too busy talking to Asriel and Frisk about staying safe. You appreciate the break from having to play parent to Frisk. What would Frisk do now? What comes next?

“Sans?” You plan on asking him just that until you catch sight of the look on his face. He’s looking towards the outside with apprehension and fear instead of the excitement that you were expecting. “What's wrong?”

“nothing.” You raise an eyebrow at the same second that you give his hand a squeeze. “it’s just that… this is really happening.” Sans gives a small chuckle that has a tinge of hysteria on it. “is it really over or is there gonna be another reset in less than a week? i dunno if i can handle that.”

Your SOUL aches for him. There's nothing that you can say (or anyone really) that can reassure him. If there's nothing that anyone can say, maybe there’s something someone can do?

“Frisk, can I borrow you for a second?” Frisk mumbles something to the Dreemurs (you ignore the small pang of jealousy) before immediately running over.

“ _Always! Sans, what's wrong?_ ”

“it's nothing kid.” Liar.

“Frisk, you're the most determined person in the underground again, right?” They nod their head and you feel Sans’ stare on you. “So I want you to save. Right now. Then again when we’re all outside. Can you do that?”

“ _Yeah! That's easy_.” When Frisk smiles up at the two of you, you swear you can feel some of the tension leave your boyfriend. Frisk, bright child that they are, catches this. “ _C’mon you two, let's go!_ ”

Frisk spins, reaching back and finding your free hand and Sans’, dragging the two of you forward. You giggle as the jealousy in you dies down a bit. Sans laughs too, half-hearted grumbling something about Frisk pulling his arm out of its socket. It's a small walk forward, the cave narrowing a bit as more sunlight pours in.

You smell freedom before you see it. Maybe it's all your time in the cave, but you can easily smell the fresh air, the scent of oak, and even the smallest hint of a sea breeze before you're out of the cave. You glance over at Sans to see a delighted disbelief on his face.

This is real. This is happening.

Instead of looking forward when you come out, you watch Sans. You've seen this before and no matter how much you've missed the sights, you’ll never get to see Sans see it for the first last time again. The wonder and disbelief don't leave his face.

“it's over. it’s really over.” He squeezes your hand again for a second.

You finally look in front of you again and it takes your breath away. Now this is a view! You're all high up on the mountain. You can see where the forest, the ocean, and the city all meet. The sun is low in the sky, getting ready to set, painting everything a dusky orange.

“I'd forgotten how beautiful it all is!” Tori mumbles as she comes out. Frisk gives your hand a squeeze before shuffling off to go to them.

“I thought I’d never see it again.” Grillby mumbles from next to you.

Instead of watching the sunset, you watch Sans. You never want to forget any of this. As the sun sets, his apprehension goes with it. You watch it leave to be replaced with hope and excitement for the future. You memorize the expressions along with the different colors that the sunset paints his ivory bones.

You want to watch them change with a sunrise too.

He looks away from the sights to look at you then, with more love than you've ever seen in his sockets.

“bond with me?” His voice is so low that his words don't register at first.“once everything calms down again i mean. let’s spend our lives together. bond with me? please?”

It only takes you a second to translate before you feel the stupidly large grin hit your face. “Yes. Oh my god, _yes_!”

He kisses you then, soft and sweet, and you miss the first few stars appearing in the sky.

 

* * *

 

You’re all partially down the mountain when you stop and make camp. It's a small clearing, but big enough to allow for more monsters as they make their way down. By the time you have more than a half a second alone with Sans, it’s closing in on midnight.

Asgore’s plan is to meet with humans in the morning and to not tell anyone that you're human until then. Like so many plans, that doesn't work.

You may or may not have let it slip that you were human to Bunny. You're done with hiding it. Everyone takes it well, especially when Alphys and Undyne step in to tell the whole story. Asgore takes your little act of defiance in stride.

It probably doesn't hurt that Tori is on your side with this one and that Grillby may be plotting mutiny.

“ _It's such bullshit_.”

“Whoa, what’s going on?” Grillby plops next to you and Sans, scowling towards the king.

“ _Five hundred years and he won't let me ‘wander off’ to go find my wife and child’s graves._ ” Disdain drips from Grillby.

“asshole move. i’d take you if i could.”

“ _Thanks. He says I can once we meet with whatever humans he plans on finding._ ” Grillby hisses out a sigh before looking at you. _“How are you still holding it together?_ ”

“Sheer force of will, my friend. Sheer force of will.” Everything is catching up to you, but you cling to your senses by promising yourself that you will let yourself break down once you don't have to lie to any witnesses. For now, you're just shoving all your Chara-related trauma into a box in your head and imaging yourself sitting on it.It's working surprising well.

“that can't be healthy.” You elbow Sans as best you can since you're between his legs and leaning on him. He has no room to talk.

"Probably not.”

“ _Grillby can you come make the fire dance?_ ” Frisk calls out across the fire. They’re hanging out with several younger monsters dangerously close to the fire. Even with the new environment, you have zero idea how any of them are still awake.

Grillby grumbles next to you, but it's a different grumble. Over the past few hours you've discovered that he’s a sucker for kids, so this quiet grumble is far more playful than the last one.

“If I do, will you all settle down for bed afterwards?” Of course there’s a chorus of ‘yes Mr.Grillby’ from the kids. “Go get some sleep you two,” he chides you both one last time before he goes. “ _And I do mean sleep._ ”

Sans doesn't need to be told twice. He scrambles up behind you (you almost fall backwards with his sudden shift) before he helps you up and pulls you a little bit further away from the fire. Papyrus had already made you guys a bed of blankets.

Man you love that tall extra-prepared skeleton.

You don't even change, you just dive under the blankets and spin to watch the show. Sans curls up next to you, pulling you close, and together you watch Grillby tell a story with the flames.

 

* * *

 

You startle awake a few hours later. It's still dark out, the moon high in the sky above you. Next to you, Sans is snoring and Frisk is breathing heavily on opposite sides of you.

You’d dreamt of Chara. A nightmare. Chara had used you to kill Sans and – a tingle of fear rushes down your spine. It’d been so real, so lifelike, that you can't even be excited for the fact that you remembered a dream.

Gaster. You need to tell Sans about Gaster appearing. It could be important -

A loud snore from behind Frisk brings you back to the present. There's no use in worrying about any of that when everyone's asleep. You try and close your eyes again only to immediately see yourself with red eyes staring back.

Nope. Fuck that. You're up.

You slowly untangle yourself from their grips, careful not to wake them. It looks like everyone else is asleep except a sentry or two, but even they're far away. You could use a short walk, stretch your legs.

No, someone else is awake. You missed him until you stood up. Asriel’s sitting by the fire, staring into it. You could go for a walk or you could get some answers. The walk sounds better, but the answers might help you sleep.

“Can't sleep?” You keep your voice low and pleasant as you walk up next to him.

“Oh! Um, no. Not really. I'm afraid that if I fall asleep I’ll wake up a flower again.” The young prince gives you a smile as he refuses to make eye contact with you.

“I'm having a similar dream. Sounds like we both should talk to Frisk, huh?”

“Yeah…”

An awkward silence stretches between the two of you. This was a bad idea. What could you two say to each other?

“I'm sorry that Chara used me to try and kill you.” There. It's something.

“I'm sorry I tried to kill you. And about your arm.” He finally meets your gaze. “Does it hurt?”

“Not anymore,” you give him a rueful grin. “Monster food is awesome. It just itches a bit.” He grins back at you and the awkward silence shifts. He's a kid. A kid just like Frisk.

You want to question him, to find out what he thinks caused all of this, but now’s not the time. Instead, you sit close to him (a little further away from the fire, but still close). “Shame we don't have any marshmallows.”

“Marshmallows?”

“Jeeze, we all need to go camping someday.” You're explaining camping traditions when you sense another set of eyes on you.

Of course it's Sans.

“Hey Asriel, think you’ll be able to sleep now?”

“I think so.” His eyes and ears are dropping. It looks like he might not even make it back to Tori’s side.

“I'm gonna go back to bed, but if you have another nightmare feel free to come poke me or Frisk awake. Just, uh, make a lot of noise so that we know you're there.”

When he agrees, you walk back over to your spot. Sans doesn't say a word, just pulls you back next to him.

“Nightmare,” you answer the unspoken question.

“i love you.”

“Love you too.” You're already falling asleep again, feeling safe and warm in his arms.

This time, you dream of a future with your little family. Of never being alone again. Of happiness.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's a wrap for Part Two! Thank you all so much for joining me and sticking with me through this nutty journey. Especially seeing as how the past few chapters have been written on my phone (ugh). 
> 
> Part Three should start sometime next week or at the latest the Monday after next! Until then, keep an eye on Incidental Music and on [my tumblr](http://meg-rae29.tumblr.com) for some short stories and bonus fun little things!


	77. Prelude

Today is _not_ your day.

“----, c’mon! He’s catching up!” The little panicked voice comes from in front of you. You'd lost sight of them a few minutes ago in the overgrowth. They weren't really faster than you, but they were smaller so navigating the forest was easier for them.

Or that's what you tell yourself. It feels like it's been ages since you've actually given it your all in a work out and now you're paying for it. Either that or the monster following you was just that quick.

Since the perimeter fence had been torn down, the government had really neglected Mt. Ebott. The main roads are covered with grass and wildflowers now and the paths that trespassers like you used to take are long gone. At night and running like you are, you feel lost.

Which would make sense since you're totally lost.

“----!”

“Don't worry about me, keep running! Just be careful - the hole that leads to the underground is somewhere around here!”

No answer.

You keep running.

Stumble over rooting.

Keep moving.

Twist your ankle.

Keep moving even as you hiss out in pain, fighting the limp.  
  
You're so busy running that you don't even notice at first that the sounds of other people moving through the brush are gone. Fuck, where is everyone?

You don’t dare stop running.

You focus in on your SOUL, calling for help.

Nobody answers.

The only sounds around you are the sounds of your own breathing, harsh and erratic, and the noises of you cutting through the woods.

You blink and suddenly you aren't in the woods anymore. You'd managed to stumble onto the one place on this mountain that you didn't want to be.

It's the clearing where all of this started for you. Unlike the rest of Mt.Ebott, this place hasn't changed a bit. The grass is still short and the roots (except the ones by that giant hole in the ground) don't dare cross into the clearing. After so long with monsters you can tell why now.

The magic crackling around this place is so ancient and powerful that it makes the hairs on your neck stand on end.

You move toward the edge, on autopilot. What would happen if you jumped? If you took yourself out of the equation?

He'd get your SOUL without a fight. That's not an option then.

“----!” You aren't alone here anymore.

“It's okay. It's going to be okay,” you lie to the young monster as you wrap them in your arms. “You're going to be fine.”

You sense it then – the void. The static tug at your very SOUL, a dead giveaway to where you are. Why are you even running? He would always find you. The two of you are tied together. There is no escape.

All you've done is lead another person into danger with you.

You should have just given up.

He appears then, stepping out of the woods like he hadn't been running after you. The only hint that he was phased at all by you fleeing is the concealed rage in his sockets.

He can't get his hands on you. You can't be his puppet anymore. 

“Take my SOUL,” you whisper to the monster in your arms, only half listening to the skeletal being talking before the two of you. 

“I – what? I can't! That's not who I am anymore!”

"It’s okay. I'm giving it to you. It's how you survive and get out of here. He can't have it.”

“I can't,” they whimper.

“I'm dead either way.” Nothing. “Asriel Dreemurr, take my goddamn SOUL now!”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, here's a thing! My goal is for the first 'real' chapter to be up on Monday :) 
> 
> But uh, Grillby fans should keep their eyes peeled on Incidental Music because tonight or tomorrow there should be a bittersweet little love story over there! /shamelessselfpromotion


	78. New Beginnings Sure Feel a Lot Like Segregation

**Present Day**  

 

Your alarm is just now going off and you can already tell it's going to be one of _those_ days. There's a disturbance in the force or...something, whatever. You grumble, swatting towards the ‘snooze’ button without even opening your eyes. Sans little trick with your phone had made you buy an actual alarm clock – 

Sans. Your chest feels tighter before you even open your eyes for the day. Great. Definitely one of _those_ days.  

Every morning that you wake up alone it feels like part of you rots away a little more. You slam your fist in the snooze button, already over it. Today and the foreseeable future. 

Humans hadn't taken the existence of monsters well. They hadn't taken it badly you guess, but you're a bit biased. There was a mandatory quarantine in place between humans and monsters once the word ‘magic’ had been used.  

In the shit sandwich that that had been, the one silver lining had been Frisk. You don't know what Frisk had said (or rather, signed) to the social worker that you’d both been dragged to, but they didn't separate the two of you. You were officially Frisk’s ‘legal guardian’, whatever that entailed, at least until Tori could take them.  

You wish you could have seen the social worker’s face for that one. Yeah, Frisk calls the (former, but humans weren't to know that for now) Queen of All Monsters ‘Mom’. No big deal.  

“ _\----!”_ There's a loud rapping on your partially opened door. “ _I heard you_ _r_ _alarm. What's for breakfast?”_  

You groan as the nine year old flings themselves into your bed and into you.  

“Frisk, whhhyyyyy?” You'd worked a later shift last night as a favor to your boss, which might explain the rough start of the day.  

“ _You have the day off and you said we could go to the movies when we finished my school work for the day.”_ Finally, you crack open an eye at Frisk. They’re already dressed and it looks like they’ve brushed their hair…  

“That I did. Scrambled eggs and toast sound good?” Frisk smiles and nods from next to you. “Cool. Start mixing the eggs, I need to go to the bathroom first.”  

You had, after a serious argument with yet another social worker and a psychologist, chosen to homeschool Frisk for the time being. You weren't trying to keep them separate from humans (man, you could have punched that social worker if it wouldn't have lost Frisk). You were trying to protect them – it was rough enough for you.  

You'd become somewhat of a pariah recently. For Frisk, it's been easy to bring them back to society. For you? Well, people notice when someone who’d been missing for six months returns from the dead.  

With it being common reported knowledge that two humans had come out with the monsters… Well, it wasn't hard to put two and two together. You’d been called more names and been asked to come to more places of worship than you ever had before. The attention makes your skin crawl.

You didn't want Frisk to deal with that. Not this coming school year, but maybe the next (if they're still with you) you’ll put them back with everyone else if it's calmed down.  

Frisk seems to be cool with it. The only thing they aren't cool with is this summer school thing. You won't let them fail a grade just to let them have a summer off. Sorry Frisk.  

You and Frisk have settled into a nice routine. School work in the mornings, followed by a trip to the gym or some sort of co-op for Frisk to hang out with kids their age, home, work, and then bed. Weekends were whatever the two of you felt like.  

You wish you could say that it had been hard to re-integrate into human society. It hadn't been. It had taken exactly one trip to the grocery store to remember how to human. Humans may not be all bad, but there is little to none of the pure friendliness that monsters just naturally give out in day to day life.  

There's more kindness up here than you remembered at least. While your stomach had turned at your former friends' voicemails coming in from the first (getting voicemails calling you names for no-showing had been the final straw for you), the first phone call had been your former boss asking you if you wanted to come back.  

Um, yes.  

The next had been apologies from your 'friends' for their voicemails, which you conveniently screened. You had nothing to say to any of them really.  

Going back in to work had been nerve-wrecking, but at least to your face, your co-workers had welcomed you back right away. The only thing mentioned about your abrupt vanishing at first had been a comment from your boss Alicia herself. "Huh, guess it makes sense that you just dropped off the face of the earth since I guess you kind of did." Alicia had not only given you your job back (with a significant raise for the industry and a bump in position!); she'd also moved you to day shift for Frisk.  

In a pinch, Frisk was more than welcome at the restaurant as well. A lot of the staff said they "admired you" for whatever reason when you talk about how you've taken in Frisk. It makes working easy, it really does.  

" _Hey! Mom's on the news!"_ You'd been so lost in your thoughts and in autopilot that Frisk's voice makes you jump while you're over the stove.  

"Yeah?" You lean out of the kitchen to look at the TV for a moment. Tori looks happy as she talks to the reporters, doing a great job at not even acknowledging the protestors that you know are around. It looks like the weight of the world has been lifted from her shoulders and that's all you notice before you have to go back to the eggs. "Any good news?" 

You hate letting them watch the news, but you'd rather them see it on the news than read it online. News anchors had to be at least semi-professional. 

"Um. N-nothing good," Frisk reappears in the kitchen, annoyance on their face. " _Mom is making the rounds with food again, trying to make friends, but..._ " People can be assholes, you mentally tack on.  

Frisk's use of their actual voice has improved over the last month at least, much faster than your sign language had. You never made them talk to you, but you did make them practice using their voice. Singing, reading, whatever; they didn't even to use it around you, you just wanted their voice to be strong if they every decided to talk.  

"People suck sometimes," you finally say, "but they haven't given up hope and neither should we."  

God, you miss the underground. 

 

* * *

 

The day hadn't been as bad as you'd thought it would be. You hadn't been recognized, Frisk had gotten tons of work done, and the movie had been decent.  

Once Frisk goes to bed that night, you turn the news back on with a glass of wine in hand. Monsters were on the news all the time now, no matter the station. You see the footage of Tori again, her smile bright and lighting up her face. Over the footage, the anchors talk about her trip to the local church and how the pies look good ("They look delicious, but how can anyone eat them? What if they're poisoned? For all we know she could be some sort of Stepford Wife.")  

From the look of it, her and Asgore were trying hard to have the separation lifted. They weren't just idly sitting around, no matter how much it felt like it on your end. Asgore had been meeting with government officials and Tori was making the rounds with the community leaders. You? You'd been instructed to keep your trap shut and lay low, for Frisk's sake. Whenever you think about speaking up, the icy look that Tori had given you when she told you to not say anything pops into your mind. 

It could be worse. From the look the polls that the news network was so fond of tossing up, the majority of people under the age of fifty were for monsters being allowed to integrate into society. You glare at the screen, wishing that they could feel you irritation at them. The fact that there even was a poll essentially asking if monsters deserved to be treated like the sentient beings that they were pissed you right the fuck off. 

Good job, humanity. Way to show the group of people that we trapped underground five hundred years ago that we're sorry and that we've grown as a species. You wish you were surprised, but if we couldn't even treat other humans right... 

You shut off the TV, shoving your thumb as hard as you can on the power button. You're giving yourself a headache. You really should ban the news from your apartment.  

You down the remaining wine with one dramatic sip, fingers playing with the stem once it's empty. You miss everyone so much and it doesn't look like you'll be seeing them any day soon. Catching glimpses of Tori, Undyne, Mettaton, and Papyrus on the news made it worse. 

You really hope Alphys, Grillby, and Sans are doing alright. Your heart clinches at the thought of Sans. If it wasn't for Frisk, you would have stayed with them. You aren't angry at Frisk. It's not their fault that the humans had tossed around terms like 'Stockholm's Syndrome' about the two of you. Or for you, 'monster fucking whore'.  You try to keep yourself (and them) busy; to keep both your minds off the fact that your little family isn't whole. It just... doesn't work.  

It hits you like lightning. Grillby.  

You smile, headache lessening just a bit as hope stirs within your gut. You pour yourself another glass of wine for either celebration or disappointment as you head to your room. You sit on your bed, crossing your legs and closing your eyes, taking deep breaths. You can do this. 

You reach for your SOUL, feeling kind of stupid. You've never really tried to reach for your SOUL by yourself before. Can humans even do this? Fuck, you wish you would have taken more of an interest in your SOUL outside of using it to break the barrier. You feel like you're stumbling in the dark, feeling for a light switch in a room you don't know. 

Nothing. 

Time to try a different tactic. You think of Grillby, imaging the bond between the two of you. If you pull on that tie, whatever it may be, could he feel it?  

Nothing.  

You try for a few more minutes before you let out a loud huff. You grab the book on your nightstand, flipping to your page, and curling up with it and the wine. 

You'll try again tomorrow. It's only been a month, you can't lose hope yet.  

 

* * *

 

That night, you dream of fire. Not that anything is on fire, but just of fire itself. It's like seeing a friend that you haven't seen in a long time. There's kindness, joy, and a warmth that seems to hit you from within from it. 

" _Everything is fine. We all_ _miss you and Frisk, but we're fine._ "

You jump awake before you can answer, Frisk's smaller arms wrapping around you. It's nearly midnight, which means that they'd had a nightmare. Or they were lonely, who knows? You're just as guilty - you'll do the walk of shame to their room after a nightmare of Chara in a heartbeat.

"Do you think monsters can share dreams over a bond?"

" _I dunno. Probably?"_ Poor Frisk sounds like they're almost asleep again already.

"I think Grillby just talked to me. He says they miss us." Frisk's only answer is their deep breathing, already fast asleep. 

You go back to sleep with a smile on your face and hope in your SOUL. 


	79. Twenty-Eight Days Later

"What's wrong bone boy?" Your voice is soft next to his skull. Sans, sprawled out face down on his bed, slowly moves to look at you. He can only see a part of you before you're straddling him. He can't stop the relaxed sigh that he makes as you get to work, the soft pads of your fingers a foreign feeling on his bones. 

He loses himself in the feeling of your skin on him, hands pressing down on his scapula and spine, shivering when you wrap your fingers around his ribs. Heavenly. He rolls over (one of the benefits of being a skeleton is that he doesn’t have to dislodge you from on top of him)and your fingers instantly go back to his ribs. 

Not only is he lost in feeling, he's losing track of time. Shouldn't Frisk and Papyrus be up? Eh, not important. He'll hear them long before he sees them. With that in mind, he relaxes even more under you.  

"feeling kind of _bonely_ ," he mumbles, his fingers going to your hips. Might as well enjoy the time alone, right? 

"Did you just...? Really comedian?"  

His eyes snap open to look at you. Your eyes are red, a smirk on your face.  

"Did you really think I'd leave you alone?" 

He snaps awake, his ribs heaving and sweat pouring off of him.  

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. It's fine. He's fine. Chara's dead. Your SOUL is your own. He rolls over, hands searching for you and coming up empty.  That's right. You aren't here.

If you'd asked him what the worst feeling in the world was last month, Sans would have said a reset. There was nothing quite like the first moment, even if he knew it was coming, when he'd open his eyes to see time rewound.  No matter how many times it happened, he always had a glimmer of hope that he wouldn't wake up when Chara sliced open his sternum. That the blackness was just death. Instead he'd open his eyes and it'd be however many days earlier.

Now? If you ask him, waiting is the worst feeling in the world. Or diplomacy. Was diplomacy was a feeling? No. All the same, it's a stupid concept.  

It's been a month. Well, twenty-eight days to exact. Twenty-eight days without you and Frisk.  He knew the first week on the surface would be awful, but he thought he'd have you. You'd be there to squeeze his hand and maybe rub that one vertebrae on his neck that makes him instantly relax. Frisk would be able to reassure him that they weren't going to mess with time. 

Humans had never taken Frisk from them before. He hadn't even been able to say goodbye. 

He kind of gets it. All the other timelines that lead to the surface had been a week long at the most. In this one, two humans had been missing for six months.

'Getting it' doesn't make it time pass any faster. 

To Sans' credit, he hadn't freaked out when the humans pulled the two of you away. Now he thinks he probably should have, but he didn't. Not even after two hours or so. With two humans that had been missing for months, of course people would have questions. 

 Asgore had been the one to tell him that they were separating the two of you from him. 

Of course, Asgore had used his own very special brand of magic on Sans before he told him. Sans had heard rumors of Asgore's magic, but he'd never put any stock in it since Asgore was such a softy. He was a genuinely nice guy. Right? 

So imagine his surprise when Asgore had walked over to him while he was pacing, expression giving away nothing. "Sans I'm sorry to have to do this to you, but I know what kind of magic you have." Asgore's expression had shifted to something stern at the same moment that he'd felt magic encompass his SOUL. He hadn't even had a chance to try and deflect it. "I forbid you from using your void magic, Sans. You cannot leave this place without my permission," Asgore had said with the most authoritative tone Sans had ever heard him use.  

In a show of both restraint and defiance, Sans had just walked away from the king. There was nothing he could say that wouldn't get him into some sort of trouble for treason or something. 

He'd spent the next few hours in a rage, trying and failing to reach into the void. Trying and failing to summon a Blaster. Of course the king would have the ability to force his subjects to listen. 

It's powerful magic because of course it fucking is. Twenty-eight days later and he can't touch it.  

 

* * *

 

 

For the first time that he can remember, Sans relies on Papyrus. He'd finally managed to spit out Asgore's stupid (and ok, completely necessary) ruling to his brother later that first day and Papyrus, wonderful younger brother that he was, took over distracting him. Together they'd explored the little bit of surface that they had access too, packed up their entire house for _when_ ("NO 'IF' SANS! WHEN!") the separation is lifted, and had started to learn more about the human world together. 

As Asgore and Tori ventured out into the human world for meetings and whatever else they were up to, a select few humans were allowed onto the mountain. Things at least seem to be making some forward movement in that way. In the past, they'd gotten to this point and then the world would reset. Now? It kept to going. Humans were coming around, nervous and on edge, to teach them all about how the human world worked. 

He's got to say, it's interesting. It's a good distraction for him, as good of a distraction as he can have. Human science is pretty fucking cool.  

Papyrus is a great distraction and so are the classes, but the best distraction hasn't even really been a distraction. It's been understanding and acceptance from the one person that 'gets it'.  

Grillby has always been his friend. From the first night he slunk into his bar after a shift, they've been friends. After everything that's gone on in the last two timelines, Grillby is now family too. It was on their second morning on the surface when this had been cemented for him. 

 

* * *

 

 

It doesn't look like Sans will be sleeping much anytime soon. You'd been gone for all of a night and he's already stupidly lonely. He'd woken up several times to look for you, except you'd never been there. When he'd woken up around six in the morning, he'd decided to stay up.  

Watching the sunrise was one of his favorite things now. He's "snuck" out of camp, away from everyone. Well, almost everyone. He sense Grillby long before he sees him, a combination of natural awareness and just recognizing Grillby's magic.

" _Sans? Are you free for an hour or so?"_ Grillby sounds nervous, far too nervous for how early it is.  

"yeah, sure. what's wrong?" He doesn't stop watching the horizon. The sun peaks over the edge, soft orange rays chasing away the night. 

You should be here, watching this with him. You hadn't watched yesterday's with him, too busy staring at him for some reason. He should be experiencing this with you. 

" _Nothing,"_ he breathes the word. Something is wrong, but he won't pry. Grillbz will share whenever he's ready. " _I want to show you something."_  

_"_ now?" Sans prys his eyes away. It's awfully early for a walk. 

" _Please?"_  

Grillby wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. So without a word, Sans turns and follows his friend through the woods. The trees up here are so green and alive compared to Snowdin's forest.  

_'it's a beautiful day outside.'_  

For one second, just one, he panics when the birds start to chirp. 

_'birds are singing, flowers are blooming.'_  

No. He stomps on the memory, forcing himself to enjoy their song. Chara's dead, their SOUL having been used to break the barrier. The cycle is over. There is nothing holding them in but a chain-link fence and Asgore and Tori's idea of 'diplomacy'. 

'unless frisk resets,' the voice in his head that sounds like Gaster taunts him. It's louder on the surface than it ever was underground.  

" _Sans?"_ Sans sputters a bit when Grillby finally gets his attention. Thank god, he'd been going someplace dark there. " _How are you holding up?"_  

"'m not," he says. He can admit the truth to Grillby. The surface is difficult for him. 

" _Good on you for being able to admit it. Ah. Here we are."_  

It's just a random spot in the woods. It's beautiful, yes, but still random. Uh? Grillby just gestures to a tree before he falls to his knees. Oh.  

He sees it then. Two hand-prints are charred into its bark, like beacons. They're markers, he realizes. It's his son and wife's graves. His SOUL gives a painful lurch from in his ribcage.  

" _I came here yesterday for the first time and I...I didn't want to come alone again so soon,"_ he finally says after a moment. " _I figured you’re the one monster who_ _underst_ _ands_ _."_  

Sans steps a bit closer, following Grillby's lead. With how small the underground was, he has no idea of how graves actually work. He suppresses a shudder – there's a human skeleton in the ground near him. Ugh. As interested as he was in the similarities between his body and yours, he could go the rest of his life without seeing an actual human skeleton.  

From behind Grillby, he sees the marks that were burnt into the tree. They were hand prints, but there was also writing under them. Writing that he manages to automatically translate, making him feel slightly sick. 

'Joan, Aedus, and Baby; fires extinguished before they could even begin to burn.' 

Sans feels his jaw go slightly slack. Even on the surface, he follows him. Gaster's strange written language, shapes carved into the tree by magic. Grillby must have looked at him at some point because he feels a hand on his shoulder. It's almost funny- his friend is reassuring him at his own family's grave.  

" _Gaster helped me bury them. What he did was_ _unforgiv_ _able_ _, yes, but he wasn't always that man."_ What can he say to that? Nothing. Thankfully after years of friendship (some of which Grillby will never remember, there's only so much his borrowed determination can do), Grillby understands. " _Anything you want to talk about?"_  

"really grillbz? i thought you'd be talking to me."  

" _Ha. In your dreams, skeleton. I want to visit them, but sitting in the silence just sounds like punishment. So talk."_  

So he does. Sans just talks. Talks about his new found real disdain for Asgore, which even with Grillby grasping why he couldn't find this place sooner shares the feelings, the random hiccup in time, how he's afraid of a reset just happening. He just talks and by the time he finishes he feels lighter.  

"i think i get why you're such a good bartender now," Sans says once he realizes that he's just been ranting and raving for a good half an hour.  

" _It gets the tips, that's for sure."_ Grillby smirks over at him for a second. " _Feel any better?"_  

"sort of." He does in a way. There's someone else that knows about the resets. He can live with that.  

 

* * *

 

 

Sans feels his breathing finally start to shift back to normal. That fucking nightmare. Fucking hell, even as his magic calms his hands are still shaking. He isn't going back to sleep after that. Papyrus is still sound asleep next to him in their tent, his breathing still deep and even. 

Rather than disturb Paps, he gets up. 

Most of the monsters that had chosen to camp out on the surface are still asleep from the look of it. It's early, but at least it's almost a normal time to wake up. There's a certain smell in the air and a feeling that he doesn't really know how to describe, and somehow he just knows the sun will start to rise soon.  

It's instinctual and even in this really fucked up situation, he likes that. He likes the fact that there's enough 'monster' in him to love the fact his body is taking to the surface. Even though he's- 

No. Not going there. It's already been a goddamn day and he's only been up for fifteen minutes.  

Sans needs to move. Everyone may think he's lazy, and they'd usually be right, but right now he needs to move. Joan and Aedus' graves, where he frequently went with Grillby, had become an awkwardly peaceful place for him. Grillby probably wouldn't mind if he went there without him (as he shouldn't;  _his_ friend was technically bonded with _his_ mate soooo...), but it still felt like it would be a serious invasion of privacy to do it alone.  

So he goes the only other place that he thinks is 'his'. He starts the walk up the mountain, remembering the place where you'd said yes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *pats Sans*
> 
> I feel like I need to explain myself on Asgore a bit. The guy's a king. He has to do what is best for his people, even if he comes across as an utter asshole to them. I don't hate Asgore and I PROMISE he will get some development, just not right now. 
> 
> Trust me, I won't keep taking cheap shots at the man. Just...Trust.


	80. Olive Branches

Sans makes good time, moving quickly to catch the sunrise from the cliff. He loves seeing the rays hitting the ocean, the city, the forest... Their large campsite is the perfect distance away from it. Close enough that it doesn't take long to get there (even without using shortcuts), but still far enough that he can't see it or hear the noises from it. 

 He gets there right after the sun starts to rise. Just like he thought, there's no one here. The monsters that had chosen to stay underground at night are still in their homes, everyone on the surface is either still asleep or just getting up. This moment of peace is _his._ Might as well get comfortable. He sits on the edge and just relaxes, feet dangling over the cliff.  

What are you up to? He always wonders about you in the back of his mind, but he never is allowed to indulge the thought when everyone's around.   

There's a fifty/fifty chance that you're awake now. Your sleeping patterns are (were?) strange. Usually the two of you were up around the same time. The realist in him knows that's because of the movements in the small bed waking the other one up, but the romantic in him likes to think it was because of your SOULs. Sometimes though, you'd be up and ready to go this early (on those days, he usually woke up alone), but sometimes he'd be up first and when that happened, he'd just snuggle closer. If that didn't wake you up for a bit, he'd drag his fingers under your shirt and just… draw. 

Those mornings were usually pretty damn good. 

He probably should keep those memories contained a bit. It's been a month and he's a bit pent up and lonely and _goddamn_ he misses you. He misses everything about you; from the corners of your eyes crinkle up when you smile, to your laugh, to how you look at him like he's the most important thing in the word in that post-orgasmic haze. Keep those thoughts under control.  

Yeah, right.  

So, uh, anyway. You might be up. Frisk is probably still asleep for a few more minutes. If you're up, you're either just laying in bed or you're up and sipping on your coffee in silence. Unless you worked mornings now? Were you working? Were you staying with your old friends or family? Did you have family in the area? Huh, how come he'd never thought to ask that? 

'Because you thought you'd have a lifetime in the underground,' that voice that sounds like Gaster taunts him.  

Why is he hearing him so much now? He was just starting to finally put all of Gaster's stupid shit in the past and now here he is again. Is it since he's a clone? Is that why Gaster won't stay dead? Due to the new experiences? This isn't the type of hypothesis that he can test without sounding absolutely insane. 'hey paps, do you sometimes hear dad in your head?'  

Yeah, that would go over real well.  

"Ah, Sans. Good morning. I wasn't expecting to see anyone this early."   

Sans jumps so hard that he thinks he feels his joints separate a bit. How had someone snuck up on him? He snarls, automatically tapping into his magic. He can't grab the void, but he whips around and goes to grab their SOUL and – oh shit, no. Not a good idea. 

"My apologies." Asgore holds up his hands, as if to show that he's harmless. "I didn't mean to sneak up on you. Most people hear me." 

"it's cool." Deep breath. Relax. "i was just thinking." 

"Must have been some deep thoughts if you missed my thundering steps," Asgore says, the soft smile that Sans knows best on his face.  

He doesn't say anything. Sans doesn't really have anything to say to him. He's sure as hell not going to just act like everything is just peachy keen between the two of them. Sans has been blatantly avoiding him for weeks now, openly up and leaving if the king even looks like he's thinking about talking to him. Yes, he's bitter and pissed off.  

The silence between the two of them stretches on, quickly becoming awkward. He feels Asgore's stare on him. Sans refuses to relent, Asgore can suffer the awkward feelings. He only has to listen to him, he doesn't have to be nice. He doesn't even have to be polite.  

"Sans," Asgore at least has the decency to sound uncomfortable. "I am sorry. However, there's no reason to act like this."  

Yes, yes there is. "whatever you say." He hasn't seen his mate in a month. He's testy and on edge, getting grumpier and grumpier. He's a petulant child now, been denied his toy for far too long. 

"I know we've never been close friends, but we at least had a good working relationship. What's got you so bent out of shape?" 

"you blocked my magic. i can hardly feel the void." That's the easiest part to explain. He'd like to be able to say that he just missed the Blasters (and he does, don't get him wrong), but it's more than that. Another thing to hate Gaster for – he can't really remember if he's always been able to feel the void, but he can remember what it was like to not _need_ to feel it. He feels like he's been slowly suffocating.  

“Sans, I had to. One wrong move and we’re at war again. You're usually so understanding. You've always been bright, I thought you'd understand.”  

Condescending much? Yeah, he understands. Sans understands that rather than talking to him (his fucking judge, the monster that was for all intents and purposes his goddamn bodyguard), he'd just blocked his magic. Cut him off from a part of him that he hadn't asked for, but that was still very much a part of him. 

“Sans you're acting like I –“ Asgore cuts himself off. “No, you wouldn't have…” 

Sans knows that his boss is piecing it together then, why Sans is as furious as he is. That it isn't just because of cutting him off from his magic. “i did.” 

He finally looks at his boss, who looks positively shocked. Why would he share SOULs with a human? Why wouldn't he? Asgore didn't know you.  

“My friend, you're lucky you didn't get hurt. Humans are cunning, she could have-“  

“humans don't even remember us. we’re legends to them, things that go bump in the night.” Sans finally looks at Asgore. He almost looks shocked that he's being confronted, which makes Sans feel a bit guilty. Undyne had been the closest thing to family to him for centuries and even she refused to go toe-to-toe with him on most issues.  

“she never tried to hurt anyone. most of the underground adores her." Asgore looks ready to argue with him, to justify five hundred years of actions. Sans might be mad, but he does feel a stab of sympathy towards Asgore. There's a way to make him understand. "she's my soulmate." 

Sans watches Asgore practically melt. The tall king shrinks into himself a bit as understanding dawns on him. His eyes, which have been so sad for as long as Sans can remember, look even sadder than usual. Pity.  

“I'm sorry Sans. I truly am," Asgore sounds about a hundred years older now. To his surprise, Asgore just walks closer and sits next to him. "I can't unblock your magic, my friend. Not yet. It's looking like it'll be soon. I'll make sure that you're the first to know.” 

Was it really that easy?  

"Don't look so surprised. I remember the feeling of finding Toriel." Asgore looks out at the sunrise, a smile appearing on his face. "When we were younger bonding was a big to-do ceremony for monsters. After finding out what she was to me, I had to wait almost half a year to cement our bond since we were 'royalty'." The disdain that Asgore manages to throw into 'royalty' thaws more of Sans' anger. 

He was just doing his job. It wasn't personal, no matter how personal it felt. It wasn't an attack on him. He was just doing his job, his sworn duty to everyone.  

"thanks." It's all Sans can manage right now.  

Asgore smiles at him, looking a little less weighed down which makes him feel a little worse. "I'm sorry that I can't do more." 

 

* * *

 

 Sans spends the day running from the guilt that's decided to nestle in his gut. He knows that there's no going back now (and experience says that even if he could, he wouldn't), but he does feel bad.  

He should really figure out a way to show that he's sorry. They don't exactly make cards that say ‘I’m sorry that I seem to have emotional issues now that time seems to be flowing normally’. That would be too easy and not enough for what was basically a month long temper tantrum. 

The guilt shifts to shame, a heavy ache in his SOUL.  

“ _You alright?”_ Grillby startles him out of his thoughts, joining him at the base of the tree where he most certainly is not hiding out from almost everyone because he's embarrassed.  

“heh, i will be. i’m used to you being the _hothead_.” Grillby elbows him while shaking his head. This he can do. He can play the jokester. “but i guess i am just a _numbskull_ after all.”  

“UGH, BROTHER. WHY?” Sans feels the smile hit his face then. True to his promise, he'd stopped forcing himself to grin and allowed himself to just be again. Some monsters had been shocked and whenever anyone asks, he just says that he made a deal with you; if he saw the surface without you dying than he wouldn't do it anymore. 

It's not a lie. 

Papyrus had been beyond proud of him for it, a feeling that made Sans relax into it even more. “POOR GRILLBY DOESN’T DESERVE YOUR PUNS!”  

“ _He's been worrying about you all afternoon_ _,_ ” Grillby leans close to whisper. Sans feels sheepish for a second before Grillby’s soft smile turns wicked. Oh boy, here we go. “It's fine Papyrus, whatever makes him feel better.”  

"DON'T ENCOURAGE HIM!" Even pretending to sound irritated, Sans doesn't miss the happy smile Papyrus has on his face. He knew how his brother thought – if Sans was making stupid puns, than he was in a good place for the time.  

"Hey Sans?" Papyrus' shadow, err, Mettaton is (per usual) never far behind him. At first it was annoying (god, in the beginning he'd really wished he'd just tossed the robot in the lava), but he's grown on him recently.  

Sans can honestly say that he doesn't want to punch him in the face every time he opens his mouth now. It isn't friendship, but it's something.  

"Tori is looking for you." His SOUL plummets a bit. He'd been avoiding Tori too, mostly by accident. He doesn't want to talk about Asgore, Asriel, or why he'd thought she'd been mad at him. He doesn't want to really talk about you and Frisk with her either. He's not mad at her, he just... Doesn't have the energy. "She said it was important." 

"where is she?" He can't ignore summons from the queen, no matter how much he wants too.  

Mettaton points towards the center of camp. Of course.  

Into the frying pan he goes.


	81. Warm Bones

For someone that was a self-exiled hermit for centuries, Toriel takes to being viewed as a leader again well. Sans crush on her may be long dead, but watching her is still sort of awe-inspiring. She's a natural, everyone near here is a captive audience. Including him. 

He's never seen her look so happy. For a moment, he remembers what drew him to her. Nothing compares to you of course, but he does welcome the warmth that Tori just exudes.    

"We'll know more tomorrow – Oh, excuse me please. Sans! I wasn't expecting Mettaton to find you so soon!" More guilt twists in his gut – has he really been that bad? Probably. He's been showing his (metaphorical) ass a lot recently. "Walk with me, my friend?" 

"of course." He tenses when she touches his shoulder to lead him away. It's weird. A year and a half ago he would have been thrilled that she was talking to him, let alone touching him. Now it's uncomfortable for at least two reasons. He has someone and Tori... She can't remember how many times they've flirted and nothing came of it. She doesn't remember the timeline where he decided that enough was enough. You came along and changed everything; something that was long overdue for him and without warning for her. 

"I know that you like to watch the sunset Sans, but have you ever heard it before?"  

"er, no?" They're deep in the woods now. When he looks up he can see the sky starting to change, but there's no seeing the horizon from here.  

"Just listen." He goes to argue with her since there's no way in hell this is why she's dragged him away from everyone, but she shushes him with a finger over her mouth as she sits. He sighs, no use fighting her. So he listens and it takes his breath away in a different way.  

"whoa." The birds begin to quiet down almost on command, their songs slowly being replaced by the sounds of crickets and an owl or two. Instead of birds flying around, Sans is pretty sure he sees a few bats flying around.  

"It's nice, is it not?" 

"it is. so, uh, not to be rude but what did you want to see me about? i don't think the queen just wanted to show me the scenery." 

Tori narrows her eyes at him, her glare bright even in the dusk. "I'm only resuming my old duties long enough to make sure that we're actually free."  

"you should reconsider. you're good at it." Her glare deepens and Sans realizes a second too late what he just said. "shit! not like that! not about asgore if you don't want to, about being queen." 

Her glare melts away. "Ah, I'm sorry then. I thought you meant..." She mutters something under her breath angrily.  

"didn't catch that lady." 

"I put being queen behind me when I left Asgore. I plan on building a school."  He's heard this dream of hers before. "Hopefully it's relatively simple once we're finally equal to humans again." 

"me too. you deserve to be happy tori." She smiles over at him, but this smile isn't completely happy. There's a sad twinge to it. Oh please, not this. This is one of the reasons that he's been avoiding her. He doesn't want to do _this._  

"So do you. I need to ask; I'm sorry Sans, but I'll never forgive myself if I don't... What happened?" Months later, she finally lets out the very real hurt. There's no anger like Flowey had faked, just hurt feelings. 

He thinks about sparing her feelings, pretending that it's just because of the door that she hid behind (which was a huge deal don't get him wrong, it just wasn't the biggest problem). He can't mention the resets without sounding insane either, so that's out. So a different truth. For the second time today, he shares it. "---- is my soulmate." 

Sans looks away from as she gasps. He doesn't want to see pity in anyone else's eyes ever again really, but he'll settle for at least no more today.  

"A monster and a human. Oh Sans, I am happy for you." He's surprised, his skill whipping around to look at her again. The sadness is still in her eyes, but it's muted now. Odd. "It's a powerful feeling that we lost when we were forced underground. ----'s SOUL must be strong to have made yours react even underground." 

"what do you mean?" He's never heard a reason as to why soulmates stop existing underground. It was a mystery that no one ever cared to solve. 

"When we were forced underground, the barrier the mages erected blocked out some of our magical abilities. One of those abilities was how our SOULs reacted to our soulmate. There is still a feeling according to what was reported to us, but the immediate recognition was lost to us." Tori frowns a bit again. "You don't feel your magic getting stronger?" 

"no. asgore didn't tell you?" 

"Tell me what?" There's already irritation building in her voice. Apparently she didn't like being kept in the dark by Asgore. 

"i,er..." he pauses. Did she remember Gaster? Even if she did it would have been pre-determination for the most part, so he wasn't worth mentioning. "i can teleport so asgore blocked my magic." 

"He WHAT?" She sounds outraged. "Ugh, I'm so sorry. He's not supposed to use that ability unless-" 

"it's fine now, he needed to. otherwise i would have gone to find ---- and frisk ages ago." It's painful to admit. "but don't tell him i get it, i'm still pretty pissed off about it." 

She giggles, lazily using her fire magic to light up the area. "Did Asgore get under your skin Sans?" 

He bursts out laughing, her joke catching him off guard.  

"Don't break a rib from laughter!" He laughs harder. He hasn't laughed this hard in a month!  

"sorry, just wasn't expecting to have my funny bone tickled."  

The two of them start to head back towards camp, still laughing. Then tension between the two of them is gone, left in the woods. Sans feels hope stiring in his chest about this new version of friendship with Tori. At the same time, he is curious how mentioning a soulmate changed everything so quickly.  

"Have you been able to speak to either of them?" 

"no." God, he wishes. He's ninety percent sure that you weren't allowed to contact any of them as a condition of (hopefully!) keeping Frisk with you. He's tried calling a time or two, but he's always gotten a busy tone. 

"Do you want me to relay a message?" Whoa, what? He must be looking stupidly at her since Tori giggles again. "I AM the queen and Frisk does call me 'mom'. I've been getting a few updates on them, but I'm sure if I push I can get more." 

"what do you know?" He's breathless. He hasn't had news in a month.  

"They're together Sans." His SOUL soars at that. "---- is having to keep a low profile for now, from what I've heard she's been working at her old job again. She's kept Frisk out of the public eye, choosing to home school them." 

You're safe. You and Frisk are together. Thank god.  

"can you... can you try to tell them that i miss them? that we all miss them?" He doesn't want to get more personal than that.

"Of course." Tori nudges him again –he hadn't even noticed that they'd stopped, whoops- and they start walking again. "Can I ask you something now?" He nods, anything for her right now. "Where does Frisk fit for you?" 

He hadn't been expecting that. "i dunno. i love them, i know that. never really cared about the title before."  

"I'm just surprised that Frisk still called me mom once we were all out. They really seem look to the two of you more as parents."  

Now that is a complicated situation. He'd never assume that Frisk gave him a 'role' other than just being Sans. But now that everything was said and done, what did he consider Frisk? It was similar to the way he felt about Paps, but...   

"I'm sorry, I was just curious."  

"it's fine. how is it having asriel back?" 

"Wonderful and strange all in one. I mourned him and Chara for so long, I'd put it behind me as much as a parent could, and now I'm having to learn how to be a mother again." Sans tries and fails to suppress the shudder at Chara's name, which Tori thankfully misses. "I'm worried about him. He isn't adjusting well, not that I blame him!" 

"must be hard waking up one day and it's a few hundred years later." 

"I'm trying to be there for him, I just don’t know how." She gives a little huff then, her fire magic sparking.  

"is there something you want to let out? " He knows from Grillby that any change in fire magic is tied to the wielder's emotions.  "i can keep a secret." 

"It's super selfish," Tori spits it out as if she's ashamed of herself. 

"so? gotta let it out." Oh the hilarity of him being the one talking about not holding things in. 

"Being near Asgore is difficult. Did you and ---- bond? I'm sorry that was really personal, you don't need to-" 

"not yet," he feels the blush hit him. God, he wishes he would have just risked everything and gone for it.  

"Then you only understand a little bit. I've spent years trying to sever the bond between us because of everything that has happened. _Years_. He declared war! He killed children! They could have lived full lives underground with us, died of old age and then we could have taken their SOULs. It wouldn't have changed a thing!" 

"Then after years of trying to sever the bond more and more, we work together for a month and I'm drawn to him like a moth to a flame once more." She gives him what he can only describe as a guilty smile. "I was hoping that I could move on, but with you having a soulmate too... It just reminded me that it's hopeless to run from it." 

"'m sorry. any ideas on what you're going to do?" What more can he say to that? Poor Tori.  

"Throw myself into work. Get us all free and then open a school. From there, I don't know." This time he touches her - her elbow though since there's no way he's going to reach her shoulder.  

"one day at a time." That's what he's been telling himself at least.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY, WRITER'S BLOCK IS THE DEVIL.


	82. The Daily Grind

Sans is stupidly attractive for being a skeleton monster. Logically, you know that finding someone attractive that looks similar to your own skeleton is kind of morbid. Your heart (or is it SOUL? You still aren't clear on that one.) doesn't care at all.  He's laying next you (naked from what you can see, a stupid blanket covering him from the hips down), head propped up on his hand, a devilish smirk on his face.  

“what’s got you looking so deep in thought?”  

“Just trying to figure out why I like jumping your bones so much.” The smirk deepens, satisfaction interlaced in it now. 

“silly broken human.”  

“You love it.”  

“heh, you know it.” Why isn't he on you yet? “i wanna try something new today.”  

“What's that?”   

He rolls and you follow his lead.  Two different species or not, something in you knows him and responds every time. He's leaning over you now, pinning you in place without touching you.   

“do you trust me?”  

“With everything.”  

He pulls your healed SOUL out, the colors masking any remnants of the break that might still be there. His fingers ghost around the sides of it, close but not touching, the anticipation makes you squeeze your thighs together.   

“good, ‘cause i’m gonna make you feel so good.”   

  

* * *

 

Holy shit. Why did you have to wake up just then? That wasn't fair in the least. You go to roll over, determined to try and finish that dream when you roll into someone else.  

You cautiously open one eye before you want to die of shame. You'd just had one of the most erotic dreams (That promise in his voice, oh god, why did you have to wake up right then?) of your life next to Frisk. At least they're still asleep.  

Still, so much for finishing that dream.   

You roll back over, away from Frisk. When had they come in? Or rather, when had you come into their room?  

It takes you a second before you remember your first dream of the night. That would be why. You'd dreamed of Chara. Yes, you're a wuss. You'd been back underground, running around in Waterfall under their control. There had been a door that Sans had been guarding and you –no, Chara- Chara had struck him down. You almost miss not remembering your dreams at this point.  

 

* * *

 

 

Midday shifts are wonderful and terrible things. On one hand, it's usually an easy enough shift. You don't need to get up super early, most of the patrons are decent enough, time doesn't always drag on, and you aren't done super late.On the other hand, it takes up a big chunk of the middle of the day. 

Being moved to bartender was a nice change for your job here. Some days it's even almost as fun as working with Grillby. Almost. In the month you've been back you've really felt more like an outsider looking in on the rest of humanity. Even without all the time shenanigans, living with the monsters changed you. 

Today is one of the good days for you. You've hit your stride for the day, pouring beers and waiting the bar area tables with a real smile on your face. You love Frisk, but damn if it isn't nice to have a few minutes of pure adult interaction and some time to just be distracted with busy work. It's now been thirty days without seeing anyone and you're almost able to not dwell on the fact that it's been thirty whole days. 

Or not distracted. You can't keep your mind off of last night's dream. The Chara one, not the Sans one. To keep your mind off that, you try to reach Grillby again. You keep trying to reach into your SOUL to pull on that connection again as you work. You feel better now, yes, but you want _more_. Grillby's gentle pull on that line between the two of you has reminded you how magic _feels_. When had you gotten so greedy?  

"----? You alright?"  

"Huh? Oh yeah, what's up D?" Lost in your thoughts _again_. The part of the bar you were cleaning is super shiny at least.  

"I need a brew-ha for table sixteen.r Where you under the mountain again?" Damien, or D as you creatively nicknamed him, is one of the only people who mentions the elephant in the room with you. Everyone else here, except Alicia, tends to treat you like you'd just gone on a six month long vacation. It's awkward, but probably better than the alternative.  

"Something like that. One brew-ha coming up, sir!" You give him your best 'I don't want to talk about it' smile (or grimace) as you work. Usually, people leave you be or make small talk after they place their order.  Not D. 

"You ever going to talk about it? You were gone for a long time and came back with a kid, there's GOT to be a story there," Damien presses a bit more. "C'mon, we were at least work buddies before you poofed on out of here." 

The two of you had been work friends, but... Without your friends being free, it feels like you'd be sharing secrets with others if you talked too much about it. The six SOULs, falling in love with a monster, or even something as simple as magic being mundane thing; everything just felt like it wasn't yours to share.  

Being with Sans was something you could probably share, but you didn’t want to do it without Sans' knowledge.  

"Maybe one day," you smile as you push the glass toward him. You don't miss his face falling into a slight frown and worry that he's getting the wrong idea. "Look, they were wonderful to me. Better than most humans I've met honestly. It just feels... Wrong to talk about them why they're being treated so poorly." 

"Why can't you join the pro-monster movement? You could be the spokesperson or something." 

"I promised Asgore I wouldn't," you grumble. "If it wasn't for Frisk I probably would anyway, but life was rough for them before we met. I don't want to do anything stupid enough for me to be considered an 'unfit guardian' or whatever." 

"That makes sense. If you ever want to talk, I'm here." Damien grabs the glass and saunters back off to his tables, leaving you to your work.  

 

* * *

 

**Friskles** **: Home soon?**  

**You: Yeah, prepping for the night now** **. Is your work done?**  

**Friskles** **: Yes!**  

**You: Good, we need to go grocery shopping**  

**Friskles** **: D: NOOOOOOO. I don't wanna go!** **We have leftovers still.**  

**You: Tough stuff, be ready when I get there.**  

You really don't want to go shopping either. Even though it's not even four in the afternoon yet, you're dead on your feet. The lunch rush had never really ended so you had to work a little faster than usual. 

You think you'll just text them to come to your car actually. If you even take off your shoes they aren't going back on. Hell, if you step foot in your house you aren't leaving again.  

"What's on your mind?" D sneaks up on you, a smile on his face. The man is good at his job, that's for sure.  

"I'm only a grocery store trip away from not moving for a while. I don't know how you work doubles all the time." 

"Wicked determination." He gives you a smirk and a lazy grin that reminds you so much of Sans that it makes you _hurt. "_ What's wrong?" 

Shit. "Nothing! You just reminded me of someone for a second." 

"Must be someone special if you get that look in your eyes. Either that or they're an absolute _monster_ to you." Oh fuck. You don't miss the double meaning. You keep your face blank or at least you hope you do. That part of your life isn't up to discussion at work for sure.

"Ha. Ha. Hilarious, Damien. Hilarious. Because I don't get nearly enough 'monster fucker' jokes in my life. I need to go clock out now." You keep your face as emotionless as possible which after a few seconds makes you both crack up laughing. "I'll see you tomorrow. Enjoy your double." 

 

 

* * *

 

When you pull into your parking spot outside of your townhouse, right as you go to call Frisk, your phone starts to ring. You feel your eyes roll so far up into your skull that it hurts just a tad –Master Sergeant Kenway. If he's calling than it's a safe bet that you aren't going shopping today.  

Kenway was the one that wouldn't let you or Frisk go back to the monsters after your 'interviews' which were really more like interrogations. He was the one that banned you from even passing on a note and that forbid you from having contact with any of them up until 'a later date'. You've sense figured out that a later date means 'until we can figure out what to do with them'. 

You let it ring three times before you pick it up. 

"'Ello?"  

"Hello ----." You'd, in a moment of friendliness before he'd yanked you away from Sans, told him to only use your first name. "This is Kenway. How are you doing today?" 

"'m fine. Got any good news for me or are you just calling to scold me for whatever?" 

"Neither, actually. I don't just scold you, you needed to know that it's not fine to just leave young children alon-" 

"One child alone while I work. And they're fine. They're responsible enough to be left alone so you can kindly buzz off with that."  

"Why you- Er. That's not why I'm calling. Are you with Peyton? I can't get Peyton to answer a text or on skype." 

Son of a- Why Frisk? Why? Why do they do this to you? Is it just to mess with you? 

"I'm just walking in now, I'll see what's going on." You grumble lightly under your breath as you unlock your front door. Frisk comes running up, their thoughts on pleading for pizza instantly in your mind. " _Frisk_ is perfectly fine Sergeant. If you call their skype again in a minute I'm sure they'll answer." You glower at Frisk and they sink into themselves a bit. 

"Very well, I'll call in five. Talk to you soon ----." Kenway hangs up right away, just like he always does. You're instantly on Frisk's case. 

"Frisk. Why? Why ignore him?" 

" _Because he's rude."_   Duh, he's rude.  

"Frisk, for whatever reason he doesn't get you. That's fine. You don't have to like everyone and they don't have to like you, but for the love of god please respond to the people that have control over your life. He could easily make issues for us. Now, go take your skype call." 

" _But-_ " You glare again as Frisk puffs up to glare back. It only lasts a second or so before Frisk backs down though. " _Fine."_  

You head toward the kitchen as soon as they close the door to their room. You need a glass of wine and to scrounge up some dinner. On principle you won't be ordering pizza tonight. 

* * *

 

Frisk refuses to tell you what happened on their phone call. You try not to press too much, but you can't help it. You're curious and they don't usually keep secrets. It had to have been something either really good or really bad. 

Even into the next day, they don't say a word.  

Frisk does ask to come to work with you today which is super weird. It's a normal day shift – they never want anything to do with your work unless they have to go. They've come in before, but never for a normal scheduled shift. Having them on a barstool doing school work is weird.  

It's one in the afternoon. You've both been here three hours and they haven't made a peep. They just hopped up on a stool, you'd given them a water, they'd put some earbuds in, and you'd both got to work. You want to ask if they're alright, but you don't want to interrupt them or force them to talk about it.  

The lunch rush actually dies down today in the bar and not many people seem to want a drink today, so you're left to just clean up the bar. It's both boring and nice – time to get some work done. Slowly.  

" _UGH."_ Frisk lets out an audible groan. " _I miss Sans."_ Another pang in your chest. " _He knew how to make this stuff make sense."_ When you cock your head, they turn the book's cover toward you. Science. Of course.  

"I'll help you in a bit. Take a break for now, okay?" They smash their head into the bar before giving you a small thumbs up. "Ever had a Shirley Temple before?" 

They shake their head 'no' so you get to work after you remind them to sign along to their thoughts, just in case someone looks in. You didn't really want to explain a psychic connection today. Jeeze, that would be quite the conversation to have to have. 

" _I talked to mom last night,_ " Frisk says as you bring their drink back to them.  

"Really? That's awesome!"  If they let Frisk talk to Tori, that's a good sign! Isn't it? "Right?" 

" _I think so? She said things were going pretty good, but... She wouldn't answer anything specific."_ Frisk frowns for a second, upset about this. It must be hard to be so in control for so long and then to suddenly have nothing. " _She passed on that Sans and Papyrus miss us."_  

_"I miss them too. I miss them a lot. Do you think we'll be able to see them soon?"_  

"I hope so."  

You both sigh at the same time, which breaks the dark mood that was trying to settle over the two of you. You both giggle, you pretending to swoon into the bar and Frisk stops to take a sip of their drink. 

" _This is really good!"_ You playfully sign them a 'thank you'. " _You should get the stuff to make these at home for me."_  

_"_ I'll think about it."  

 

* * *

 

The day had dragged on so slowly that you were (mercifully) cut earlier than usual. The trip to the grocery store had been uneventful. Lucky for you, Frisk likes grocery shopping about as much as you do, which means it doesn't take long. 

When you pull up to your place, you toss Frisk your keys and some lighter bags so they can unlock the door. You're grabbing the rest of the bags when Frisk lets out a shriek from just out of view. 

" _Sis! Get up here!"_  

"I'm coming, I'm coming," you grumble under your breath as you mentally place a bet with yourself. Was there a creepy crawly blocking the door? Oh god, please no. Or a stray cat that Frisk wants to adopt on the spot? Please no on either option. 

You're wrong on both accounts.  

When you round the corner, Frisk isn't waiting for you. 

Papyrus is. 

"Oh my god. PAPYRUS!" You drop the groceries, throwing your arms around the tall monster. The waterworks start before you even connect with him. Papyrus scoops you up easily, holding you as tightly as you are hold him. 

"----! I'VE MISSED YOU SO MUCH!" He presses a toothy gentle kiss to your forehead before he puts you down.  

You paw at your face, wiping away the tears. If he was here, then... 

Like the universe hears you, Papyrus takes a step back just as Frisk is dropped back on the ground. You're on him in a heartbeat, arms locking around him. 

"Sans." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Friskles' nicknamed by greyscales! God I loved reading that nickname for them!
> 
> Erotic dreams for both Sans and Reader! I'd feel guilty, but nah.


	83. Home

"Sans," you repeat into his neck. Are you dreaming? Is this real? 

"----," he chokes on you name as his grip tightens on you to the point it's almost painful and you don't wake up.  

It's real.  

He's here. He's really here. It's not a dream, you're not going to wake up in a second in your bed alone or just with Frisk. Sans is here. 

"ER, GUYS?" Papyrus makes a sound like he's clearing his throat. "Sans, I hate to interrupt, but remember what Asgore said." 

"sorry, paps. you're right. can we come in?" Sans lets you go and you get your first real look at him in a month. 

He looks terrible. He's wearing his trademark blue hoodie and some basketball shorts, but instead of looking lazily put together like usual, he looks disheveled. The dark circles under his sockets are back with a vengeance, the lights in them focused but still kind of dull. Somehow he even looks thinner to you, like he's lost some substance to his very bones. 

You don't mention any of that as you reach toward your pockets for your keys. You don't have them, duh. "You both are more than welcome. Frisk can you get the door?" 

" _Huh? Oh yeah, right. Sorry."_ They wipe their face and unlock the door, Papyrus grabbing their bags. 

Papyrus looks the same, if not better. His battle body looks a little dirtier and a little scratched up, but it kind of suits him. You can see the life and excitement in his every movement. What had happened to Sans?  

"it's not being announced officially until tomorrow morning so we shouldn't be seen," Sans mumbles at you as he grabs your bags. That makes sense. God, you have so many questions. Or not. You just want him to keep talking, to keep touching you. 

"It's so good to see you. I've missed you so much." 

His face finally twitches into a smile. Oh, you melt at that. You're a puddle of goo that was once a human now. You'll be useless for the rest of the day, you just know it. All you want is to do is snuggle up with Sans and catch up with the brothers. You usher Sans inside, trying and failing to grab a few bags from him, and directly into the kitchen. 

Frisk and Paps are there already, unpacking and putting things away.  

"No, we've got this! Sit, both of you. Tell us about what's been going on." You playfully push both of the monsters to the other side of the bar. Sans immediately hops up onto a barstool and Papyrus just leans onto the counter next to him. They both look like they belong here. They're home. 

They're home!  

"WELL, IT'S BEEN INTERESTING!" 

"that's a word for it." 

"SANS, BE POSITIVE. WE'RE ON THE SURFACE! WE'VE BEEN TAKING HUMAN CLASSES!" 

" _Human classes? Like school?"_  

"not really. more like... human seminars?" Frisk stares blankly at Sans for a second. "so we don't really have to do anything, they just lecture." More blank staring. 

"Lecture just means they talk and you listen, Frisk." 

" _Oh. So school._ " 

Sans chortles. "yeah, sure. school." 

"WE'VE HAD A WHOLE MOUNTAIN TO EXPLORE! WE JUST COULDN'T LEAVE THE FENCED AREA." 

"or get close to it," Sans sockets darken along with his tone before he shakes it off. "the more vocal humans liked to hang out there." 

"I saw them on the news sometimes. How's Muffet?" The poor spider monster had had an interview early on, talking about her baked goods. The things that the protesters had yelled, combined with the biased questioning...  

"she's fine now. grillby spent days comforting her." If anyone could help her, it would be Grillbz. Why isn't he here too? He needs to- "he's fine. he didn't want to intrude, said it would be rude of him to." 

"Well, I'll fix that next time I see him. He's family too." Both the skeleton monster's visibly brighten at that. "What, do you think we haven't been here missing you two?" 

" _I've been fine, but ----'s been a mess,"_ Frisk brags in your heads, " _I kept sis going."_  

_"_ That you did, but you certainly didn't help keep me sane. Opposite actually." You playfully ruffle their hair once all the groceries are put away. Jeeze, you're going to need to go shopping again here soon.  

They're worth it.  

" _Keeping you sane wasn't in the job description!"_ You snort unattractively as Paps and Sans laugh. 

"SO WHAT HAVE YOU TWO BEEN DOING?"  

" _School,"_ Frisk answers first. " _I'm home schooled for now. Sis is a bartender now!"_  

_"_ That's about it. We're under a freaking microscope all the time, so I kind of keep us under the radar."  

"sorry 'bout that." 

"Don't you dare be. You guys have done nothing wrong." 

"eh." 

"ER. ABOUT THAT. ASGORE WISHES TO SPEAK TO YOU TWO TOMORROW. ARE YOU FREE?" 

What day is tomorrow? You think for a minute. "Around this time tomorrow, sure. I work tomorrow around ten, but I usually get off around four. I have the entire day after that off though." 

"I'LL LET THE KING KNOW!" Papyrus hurriedly whips out his phone and begins to smash buttons on it. 

With Paps distracted, Sans looks visibly uncomfortable. What had happened to him? Where the two of you...okay?  

"Have you two had pizza yet?" 

"no?" 

"WHAT'S A PIZZA?" Nope. Fixing that.

"Well, Frisk, it looks like you're getting what you want." You're about to spend way too much money on food, but whatever. Worth it. "Log in and pick out some pies kiddo."  

" _Score!"_  

Sans looks even more uncomfortable with Frisk distracted. Ouch. You can't not take it personally. You'd imagined your reunion to be more obnoxiously lovey-dovey, not awkward and stiff. 

"can i use your shower? this kind of snuck up on us. tori didn't give us a hint or anything." 

"Yeah, of course-"  

" _You can use mine!_ _Down the hallway on the left. Mom didn't mention anything to me last night either."_ Sans immediately wanders off and you approve Frisk's order. Mmmm....Pizza. 

"IT WAS TOP SECRET! OR AT LEAST THEY CHOSE TO MAKE IT TOP SECRET." He's still punching keys on his phone, but the urgency of earlier is gone. "I THINK THEY JUST DIDN'T WANT ANYONE TO GET THEIR HOPES UP." Papyrus discreetly places his phone down, with the screen flipped open facing you. 

TALK ALONE? 

"Frisk, why don't you go pick out a board game or something? Preferably something that won't make us want to kill each other and that has all the pieces?" 

" _Monopoly?"_   Even Papyrus looks put off at that.

"I said that won't make us want to kill each other. Or make us start a blood feud."  

" _Fine. You're no fun though."_ You blow a raspberry at their retreating back before looking at Papyrus. 

"Is everything okay, Papy?" Papyrus reaches his hands across the counter for yours. You give them to him, confused. 

"Please don't think too lowly of Sans. I talked to Grillby, who helped me do some research, and what he's doing is normal. Or we think it is." You can't keep the confused look and head tilt away. "Monsters aren't meant to be kept from their mates, or in your case potential mates, for so long. He's missed you so much that he just... lost his manners, I guess. Not that he had very many to begin with..." 

So Sans missed you so much that he was just acting indifferent? That doesn't sound right, but you'll bite. "What can I do?" 

Papyrus gives you a huge smile. "I knew you'd get it! You're such a wonderful partner for and to my brother! Just..." He pauses to think and you let a bit of guilt build up. Monsters are built different than humans, you remind yourself.  "Your instincts are probably better than mine on this, but just touch him." 

Just touch him? That's it? 

"AND THAT'S NOT AN EUPHEMISM!" 

You drop your head onto the counter. Oh god, your mind hadn't even gone there yet.  

"what's not an euphemism?"  

"NOTHING!" Sans stares at the both of you like you've grown two heads when you both manage to sound so very, very guilty at the same time.  

" _I found a game!"_  

"GOOD! MAY I SHOWER AS WELL?" 

Sans is still staring at you. "Sure thing, Paps."  

Awkward. 

 

* * *

 

 

Pizza is a hit across the board. Paps and Sans both love it (no surprise there), Frisk is thrilled that they're getting some, and the pizza place had done an excellent job cooking it. Once you'd all devoured some food, Frisk pulls the game of Life out of their room.  

It's the perfect choice. It's kind of competitive, but not the kind that destroys relationships. Just enough to be fun. When you close your eyes for a second, it almost feels like you're in Snowdin again.  

Or you would if it wasn't for this awful awkward tension in the air.  You're all sprawled out across the living room rug, Sans next to you. He's been watching you sort of discreetly for a while now. You feel him watching you, but neither Frisk or Paps have said anything so he must be being discreet. 

"geeze paps, why do you have so many kids?" 

"WHY NOT?" 

You make your move then, your hand touching his wrist bones. He freezes, sockets wide, and you pull your hand away. Ouch. 

"So who's the other parent?" You tease Papyrus to keep your mind off the sting of rejection. The tall monster stutters, turning a tangerine color.  

"WHAT? WHY WOULD I- IT's NOT- THAT IS-" He takes a deep breath in. "WHO SAYS I NEED ANOTHER PARENT?" 

"where are you getting them from then?" Sans turns his attention to you again and you purposely keep your gaze on the blushing Papyrus. If you look at Sans you might cry. You'd never thought you'd ever feel this weird around him again.  

"I ADOPTED THEM. DUH."  

Slowly, you feel extra weight press onto the tops of your thighs. You see Paps' smile widen before you look down – Sans. He's moved closer, laying down and placing his head in your lap. Okay, so he's forgiven already. You glance at Frisk and they just smirk back at you. 

" _One night and then I'll make fun of you two again,"_ the private thought echoes. You just glare. " _Fine, two nights."_  

Frisk flicks the dial next as Sans grabs your wrist and pulls your hand over his mouth. His mouth may move slightly different than yours (you don't think you'll ever be able to lip read his words), but you recognize what he mouths into your palm before he drops your wrist in favor of holding your hand. 

"i'm sorry." 

 

* * *

 

The four of you play two more rounds (each minute that passes feels more and more normal) before Frisk starts to fall asleep leaning onto Papyrus.  

"I think it's bedtime." 

" _Story?"_ It's something that Frisk enjoyed so much in the underground that the two of you just kept up. It just wasn’t the same without the two skeleton monsters, but it comforted the both of you in a way. " _You promised that you'd start that book when they got here."_  

"Sure thing. Go get ready," you start to tell them to clear off their bed, but they're already darting down the hallway. "Paps their bed is big enough, but it's still just the one bed. You can sleep on the couch of you don't want to share-" 

"IT'S FINE. NOW WHAT STORY ARE WE STARTING?" 

"An epic one, that's what." 

 

* * *

 

 

Sans and you tiptoe out of the room, both of them falling asleep in the middle of the second chapter. You go to the kitchen, quickly putting away the remnants of the pizza. It's the first time that you and Sans are alone and it's so awkward again and you hate it. 

"nice digs," he sounds as awkward as you feel. 

"Yeah, the government did okay." 

"really? they found this place?" 

"Yeah, Kenway brought me a list of 'approved places', whatever that means. I liked this place the most. Between the money I missed in tax season and re-start up money to take care of Frisk, we did pretty good." 

"you guys did. so, uh, do you want me on the couch or...?"  

"I thought you'd sleep in my room. Unless you don't want to that is, then-" 

"no, i do." He lets out a nervous chuckle, fingers playing with the strap the backpack that he's tossed over his shoulder again. "'m being dumb. i just got myself all worked up about you not wanting me after a month and," he takes a deep breath. "sounds so stupid when i say it out loud. i'm sorry, i just missed you so much that-" 

"Nothing to be sorry for as long as you talk to me about it," you cut him off. You move slowly and deliberately towards him, giving him time to back away or tell you to stop.  "Bed?" 

"bed," he meets you in the middle, his hand grabbing yours. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Psst, psst! The book is totally Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. 
> 
> Everyday I'm [tumblr-ing!](http://meg-rae29.tumblr.com/) Ok, like every other day, but I'm still there.


	84. Together Again

The magic from his hand feels divine on your skin. Grillby's lingering dream magic (if it had been real) had been one thing, but having actually having magic touching you, and Sans' magic at that, again is heavenly.   He's warm,   the tingling sensation is almost overwhelming, and it feels like his magic is pulling at you.  

You'd let him pull you apart at the seams if he'd just ask. 

He doesn't (at least yet) so you lead him down the hallway quietly. Or you were going to before you end up pushed against the wall, Sans pinning you in place.  

"i've been dreaming of this since you left." 

His voice sends a tingle of desire down your spine. "Dreaming of what?" 

He goes to answer, but you cut him off. Your lips meet teeth the first time, but the second peck he's ready for. The feeling of magic sparking at your lips makes you feel light headed enough by itself, but coupled with the feeling of his hands dipping under your top makes your knees nearly buckle. When his tongue traces your lips, they do. 

Who needs oxygen again? All you need is Sans and it seems like all he needs is you. When the two of you finally do separate, you're both breathing heavily. Apparently Sans had noticed your legs giving out since they're wrapped around his hip bones.  

You manage to mumble out, "bed?" again with his forehead pressed against yours after a moment or two. 

"isn't your room next to theirs?" 

"I can be quiet if you can. I think." 

"i don't think i can," he kisses you again. When he pulls away to kiss at your neck, he's growling. "goddammit." 

"What's wrong?" You're trying to actually be concerned about whatever he's upset about, but it's really difficult to think about anything past his mouth on your neck.  

"can't control my magic very well," he grumbles into your neck, "at least right now." Fingers dig under your shirt as teeth dig into your neck.  

"Does that matter?" 

"a bit," you shiver from the combination of nips and his voice vibrating in your throat and you feel his smirk, "but don't worry, babe. i can still drive you wild with almost no magic." As if to prove his point, he slowly trails his nearly permanent summoned tongue up your neck. 

"One problem." You finally manage to unlock your arms from his neck, trusting him to keep you up right. He gives a low 'hmm?' as you trail your fingers down his arms and under the sleeves of his shirt. "I don't think I'm capable of not touching you." 

Sans gives your ear a gentle pull before he lets go and pulls back to look at you. The lights of his eyes look brighter and more focused already and they blow wide as he takes you in. "you look fucking edible," he whispers. More kissing. When had the two of you reverted to being teenagers again? "we should stop." 

"We shouldn't. We should keep going." You squeeze your thighs tighter around his hips and he groans. "Maybe even right here," you add and you swear you hear him whimper. "It'd be harder to hear us." 

"pretty sure fucking you into the wall wouldn't go over so well and it's not just that." You openly pout, sticking your lower lip out. Sans moves quickly to suck at it, the motion doing nothing to make you want him less. When you moan out his name he pulls away again, bones clacking together. "you're killing me." 

You press sloppy kisses against the side of his face for a few seconds, the only sounds you can hear are the sounds of lips hitting bone and your combined heavy breathing. When you finally lean back against the wall, he focuses in on you. Neither of you move or say anything, you just take in the other. You're back together and it feels so good. 

 Then you grind against him again and he swears, breaking the spell. 

"can't give you what you want tonight." He looks away and the light blue blush darkens. "my magic isn't stable right now. i can't-" 

You snicker and Sans face snaps back to you. Oh shit, you weren't trying to be mean. You kiss the tip of his nasal cavity (still a favorite of his if how he leans into you is any indication)before you give him a warm smile. "Can't summon up your dick, bone boy?" 

"shuddup," he sounds embarrassed, but not offended thank god. "it's been a long month and kind of a hard one."  

You won't make a joke about that. You won't make a joke about that even though he just waltzed into it.  

"We don't need magic though, right? I can just use my hands and mouth." The incredulous look that Sans gives you isn't lost on you. You have zero problems with idea of getting him off without his manifested body. He sometimes reacts like parts of his body are erogenous zones, so the potential is there. You think. "Right?" 

He goes even bluer, hunching his shoulders to hide in the hood of his jacket that isn’t there. You'd missed that habit too. "you're unbelievable. not tonight." Rejected. "my magic isn't stable. i could really hurt you if I'm not control of it." 

You sigh, but give him one last kiss as you untangle your legs from him (he gives you a reluctant hand here, making sure you don't hurt yourself). If he's that worried, it's for a good reason. It doesn't make it suck any less when he pulls away just enough so that you're no longer pinned in place. 

"bed?" 

You grab his hand again and pull him down the hall like you'd been trying to do a few minutes ago, rapidly trying to shake off your arousal. Once you reach your room, you grab something to sleep in and rush into the bathroom to change, nearly slamming the door on accident. If you so much as sense Sans' gaze on your bare skin, well...  

Frisk and Papyrus are asleep in the next room and if Sans' mouth is otherwise occupied, you don't trust yourself to not wake up the entire house after an entire month.  

When you come out, Sans is standing and looking around. There's a tender smile that takes your breath away. You hadn't had a chance to really clean your room this week yet. You've been so busy with work and Frisk (and fine, feeling sorry for yourself), that you haven't kept it as clean as you told yourself you would. Your dirty clothes are in the corner of the room, some of your stuff is still in a box or two against the wall, the bed is messy and unmade... Whoops. 

"Organized chaos? I mean, it's not like I can form my own trash tornado to store stuff." 

"very you," he says.  

"You'll like this," you say as you turn off the light to show him the addition that you're really kind of proud of. Sans lets out a small gasp when he sees it. 

"that's awesome. holy shit." 

You hadn't gone crazy with it like you'd originally planned on, but you'd bought some glow in the dark paint and right above your bed, you'd painted a small galaxy.  

"I missed the stars and I kind of figured when you got here, you’d like it too. It's supposed to be the Milky Way, but..." You crawl into your bed and pat the spot next to you. "Sans?" 

Sans stands there for another second, his eyes never leaving you as he strolls over, kicking off his shoes and yanking off his shirt along the way. He  only hesitates for another second before he slips in next to you. The two of you snuggle close, moving right back to the way you learned to do this comfortably in Snowdin.  

"i love you," he mumbles into your hair.  

"Love you too." 

 

* * *

 

 You wake up before your alarm for a change, feeling well rested and happy. Happy isn't really a strong enough term. Sans is still fast asleep and wrapped around you. Apparently the two of you had melted into each other instead of rolling around despite the bigger bed. You dare to glance at your alarm clock – six in the morning. An hour early.  

You aren't going back to sleep since you're up, but you don't necessarily want to be up either. So you stay. 

So what's next?  

How many times had you asked yourself this same question over your time with Sans?  

Are the monsters actually free? Are humans actually going to try and be fair or are monsters going to be treated as lesser? What's public opinion going to be? Are they going to be shoved back underground again?  

There's a gentle kiss to your forehead that startles you out of your thoughts. "'morning," Sans voice is still thick with sleep, "stop thinking so hard. too early for that." 

"Did I wake you up?" 

"nah, woke up on my own. seriously, relax. you have that look on your face." You glance up at the barely awake monster. His sockets are lidded, the lights brighter and the dark circles are significantly lighter. "your hair's a wreck." 

"Oi, rude."  

Sans gives you a playful smile. He can't manage to do much when he first wakes up, but somehow he muscles up the energy to be mischievous. "s'not rude if i like it. i missed seeing you in the mornings." 

"D'aww." 

"shuddup." You share a grin, the awkwardness of last night long gone. "got any coffee?" 

"What's this? Sans the skeleton wants to get out of bed before seven?" 

"no, but we should talk before thing one and thing two get up. and to talk, i need caffeine." 

"A man after my own heart. I'll get it started, relax for like another five minutes." You shift yourself out of his arms to stretch. 

"oh, you're the breast," is the only warning you get before he reaches around to paw at your chest. You swat him, playfully shoving him back onto his back.  

Things feel normal again.

 

* * *

 

Exactly five minutes later, Sans joins you in the kitchen. He's thrown his only slightly gross jacket back on. Ew, gross. You wrinkle your nose at him and make sure to make a point to hold out the coffee to him while leaning back.  

"You know you could have worn one of mine, right?" He grabs the coffee and hops up on the counter, shrugging. "Really. You're bones," he glares a bit at that, "fine you look like bones and you're more than welcome to my stuff babe."  

"when we go back i should probably be wearing the same clothes." You hop up the counter next to him, trying to ignore the icy damper on the mood. "don't look at me like that. we have to go back for a bit, since we aren't supposed to be out yet." 

"That was nice of Asgore." 

Wrong words. Sans sockets go black, eyes narrowing and grip tightening on the cup in his hand. "yeah, _nice_ ," he spits out. 

"Sans?" He doesn't answer and you can tell that while he may be looking towards you, he isn't seeing you. "What happened?" 

It takes another three seconds or so before your words register with Sans, the lights reappearing as his body slumps a bit.   

"you aren't going to like this bit," he finally says as he sips on his coffee. "guess we should talk about the past month." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have some [fluff](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7235824/chapters/18008194) from Incidental Music that I posted a few days ago. /shamelessselfpromotion


	85. The Patron Saint of Bullshit

Sans is quiet for another minute, his foot idly drawing shapes on your leg while he thinks. You both sip your coffee in silence. You inch a bit closer to try and get his attention again. You're so curious about why he's so angry at Asgore (well, kind of. The guy had tried to kill you before Gaster froze time so you get that anger. You should really tell Sans about that too, actually.) 

"so i really thought you'd be mad at me last night," he finally says. Mad? Why would you be mad? Is that part of the reason he was so weird last night? "for not coming to see you sooner." 

"Babe, I haven't seen you for a month because humans don't handle change well and you think I'd be mad? No. Not mad. Not even close. I just figured you were being smart and kept on a short leash." 

"heh, you could say that. it wasn't my idea. asgore has this special ability, dunno if it's just him or because he's king, but he can force us to listen. block magic. guess who blocked me from touching the void at all?" 

"He banned you from using your magic?" Holy shit. That feels wrong and you don't even have magic of your own to flaunt. 

"not just forbid it, but he used his magic to block me off from it. i was cut off from my own magic." You sit and process for a second, letting one had play with Sans' hand. You'd have loved to see Sans sooner (its not like the two of you don't know how to be discreet after all), but... You get it. If anyone would have seen Sans besides you and Frisk, there would have been hell to pay. 

From the look on his face, that wouldn't be a good thing to say. He looks like he wants to say more when you both hear a door open. Well, they're up. 

You reach over and touch his cheekbone softly. "Later," you promise right before Frisk barrels in (followed by a barely awake Papyrus). "You look like you need some coffee Paps." 

"PLEASE. I'D FORGOTTEN WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO GET A FULL NIGHT'S REST." 

" _What about me? Can I get some?"_  

"kid, if you have any more energy you're gonna leave you skin behind and look like me and paps." 

 

* * *

 

 

It takes everything in you to not call into work today. Every ounce of self-control and common sense in you. You've been there a month and it's not like Alicia (or her bosses) are idiots. You can't have a mysterious one day stomach bug on the day that your friends are freed.  

So here you are, twitching behind the bar, the seconds ticking by like hours. It doesn't help that today is almost unnaturally slow customer wise too. 

Sans and Papyrus leaving that morning had been stupid painful. They'd had to leave before breakfast to be present for the press conference that Asgore was giving at nine am. You didn't watch it or let Frisk watch it. Based on what the internet was saying, that was probably a good call. The protesters had gotten ugly apparently. Not violent from what you'd read, just loud. 

"You're pacing, ----." Damien leans against the bar and gives a theatrical yawn and stretch before he plops onto a stool. "Why didn't you call out?" 

"D, I'm technically a new hire again." 

"That's bullshit and you know it. Can I get some agua por favor?"  

"Sure. Don’t you have tables?" You smirk towards him before you fill up a kid's cup for him. It's partially you being an ass, but you don't have to clean a up a kid's cup. 

"No. It's dead. My paycheck's dead. I'm dead." 

"You're not dead. I like you enough that I can buy you some ramen. I'll even spring for the good shit for you." 

Damien holds out his hands, pretending to have trouble counting. "Twenty-one dollars worth of ramen to get me to the next paycheck. You're a saint, ----. The patron saint of bull-" 

"Where is everyone?" Alicia appears out of practically nowhere. "What are you two – you know what, I don't want to know." 

"You should go find someone, anyone to eat here!" D collapses even further onto the bar. "Alicia, I have bills to pay." 

"Don't we all?" She sits next to Damien (although it's far more graceful when she does it) before she directs her attention back to you. "So why are you here?" 

"Me?" You point to yourself. 

"Yeah, you. I figured that you would have 'had a fever' or some such nonsense."  

"I've been back for a month!" You're indignant at this point. What do these people think of you?  

"So?"  

Before you can answer it, your phone starts to ring in your back pocket. Even though it's on vibrate, it's so dead that both Alicia and Damien hear the buzz.  

"Go ahead, who's going to bust you?" 

"You?" You smirk as you fish out your phone. It's not a number that you know, but...  

"I don't care. There's no one in your section. Damien, go at least look busy for five minutes so we don't look like total slackers." 

"Hello?" You can't stop the giggling that comes out as Damien slinks off, grumbling under his breath.  

"Oh, ----! Hello my friend!"  

Your heart nearly jumps out of your throat as a few tears try to jump out of your eyes. "Tori?" 

"Yes! How are you?" 

"Fantastic now! How are you, T?" 

"The same! I've missed both you and Frisk so much. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to give you a hint that things were changing to soon from when I talked to Frisk. I wanted to talk to you as well, but Kenway said that it would be best if -" 

"Tori, it's fine. I understand." 

"I'm glad, but I am still so sorry. I wanted to tell everyone so badly." She sighs softly and you smile. Despite everything, it's the same loving Toriel. "That's not why I'm calling though. Asgore wishes to speak with you as soon as possible. I'll be there as well, I promise. Would that be possible today?" 

"I'm at work right now, but it's dead. I should be able to come by this evening." Never mind that Asgore knows this already because of Papyrus.  

"Would six o'clock work?" 

"That sounds good." 

"Now, the second part," she sounds slightly guilty at this point, " I hate to ask when you're working, but can I send someone to pick up Frisk? I've missed them so much!" 

"Err...Is this a good number to text you at? Do you mind if I ask them first, I just hate to plan things for them." 

"Not a problem!" 

You quickly say your goodbyes before quickly shifting to text Frisk. Alicia smiles from the barstool when you glance at her. 

"It's nice seeing you actually happy again," Alicia says as you text. 

"I'm sorr-" 

"Stop," she interrupts, "it's fine. You were a great employee for over a year before you fell, but even then you seemed kind of 'down'. I know you don't really talk about your life before working here much and that I'm supposed to be an uncaring bitch on wheels to my employees, but I'm glad you seem so happy." 

Frisk, of course, is beyond ecstatic. You mention that they'd being seeing Asriel (neither one of you is sure how to deal with that change), but Frisk doesn't care. You pass the message on to Tori, before shoving your phone back in to your pocket. 

Phew, dealing with shit like this oddly stressful. Even though it was less than five minutes worth of work. 

"Can I stop pretending to work now?" 

"Ugh, fine. Where's everyone else?" Alicia gives Damien an eye-roll before flicking a lemon wedge that she'd somehow stolen without you noticing. Ha, you thought you'd been pretty good at multitasking. Guess not.  

"They avoid me like the plague." 

"Wow, that's... Rude. So is everything alright?"  

"Yeah, Tori just wanted to make sure I could meet with Asgore tonight and to steal Frisk for the afternoon while she was at it." 

"Whoa. Asgore? Like King Asore? Wait, you're friends with the Queen?" D's jaw goes slack.  

"Go," Alicia points to the door. "Get out. We're dead and the KING wants to see you. Damien, you're on bar for the afternoon."  

"Thank you!" You aren't going to argue that. You're out like a bat out of hell. Like a fat kid in dodgeball. Like a – eh, who cares, you're FREE. You quickly text Tori to let her know that you're off early and you can just bring Frisk by. 

**Tori: No, it's fine! Take your time, we'll be fine without you for a while. What's another word for without** **again?**  

**Tori: ;)**  

**Frisk: Can you let me know that you get home? I worry about you sis :(**  

You just roll your eyes at Frisk's message and don't even begin to try and understand Tori's. Sure, you text Frisk, you'll humor them. 

 

* * *

 

When you pull up to your place, waving to the one neighbor closest to you, you humor Frisk.  

**You: I'm home safe, but you aren't here. Whatever shall I do?**  

**Frisk: Take a shower?**  

Whoa, rude much? It doesn't sound like a bad idea though, you think as you close the door behind you. You could take a shower and make yourself look nice before you go see everyone. It'd been fantastic to see Sans and Papyrus, but you still have monsters that you love to see!  

Then you feel it. The shift in the air that's the void. Another word for 'without'.  

"Sans?" 

Tori is hilarious.  

"hey. whoa, nice uniform." You make sure to let him see you roll your eyes as soon as he steps out into your line of sight.. Your 'uniform' today is a work shirt and yoga pants. 

"You would like it. It's effortless. It's the girl equivalent of basketball shorts."  

"i knew lazy was sexy." It just being the two of you alone makes you feel shy again. Not a bad shy (and certainly not the nervous awkward wreck that you were last night), but the nervous first date kind; the kind of anxiousness that you used to feel on the morning of your birthday as a kid.  

"Glad you think so," you say as you step into the kitchen to throw your bag onto it's home – The Table Chair. All the way, you feel Sans watching you. You know exactly where the two of you are going to end up, it's just a question of who makes the first move and if you're going to dance around with other subjects first. 

"so, where were we last night?" Sans manages a seductive purr as he backs you against a wall. The same wall from last night, actually.  

"Here?" He pins you there again, both his hands on yours. "Shouldn't we finish talking about Asgore and stuff before we get into this?" 

"i remember now." He ignores the second part of your sentence and your SOUL feels like it's going to fly out of your chest on its own. Okay, this works.  

"Sans," you say pleadingly. You don't know if you want him to take you to bed, touch your SOUL, or just to take you right here and now.  

He takes pity on you and kisses you softly, pulling away way too soon for your liking. "now that i'm in control of myself again... bed?" 

"Bed," you agree. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a safe assumption that the first half of next chapter will be smut. Or maybe I'll feel froggy and do an entire chapter of smut.
> 
> \---
> 
> So I wanted to pop in and say THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. I'm glad so many of you've joined me on this journey and are trusting me enough to take these characters onto the surface. I feel like I don't thank you (yes, you!) enough - I seriously smile every time I get an email from this site. Over 1,000 kudos and 151 bookmarks (and 20,000 views that aren't all me? SAY WHHAATTT?); you guys warm the cockles of my cold dead heart <3


	86. Netflix and Chill?

You don't immediately head toward your bedroom. Sans and you spend a few minutes kissing against the wall, repeating last night. Or rather, how last night should have gone. You're a mess of tongues, teeth, and hands. The two of you end up –somehow- making your way through the house, basically attached to one another.  You don't even really notice until you're pressed against the door to your room and he finally pulls away to breathe. 

"get the door, will ya? my hands are kind of full." He squeezes your ass and you laugh into his kiss.  

"You have magic you could use," you grumble halfheartedly at him as you fondle for the doorknob.  

"kind of distracted by you. besides, i've got a reputation of being lazy to uphold." 

Your small giggle turns into outright laughter as the door gives way and he's thrown off balance by the door opening up. "Graceful, Sans. Very grac-“ He silences your sass with another kiss. 

You break apart to laugh when he unceremoniously drops you on to the bed, you yanking him down with you reflexively.  "Jeeze! Some warning, please?” 

"nah." Sans hovers above you, the smirk on his face promising good things to come. "where's the fun in that?" 

The two of you roll so that you're both completely on the bed, Sans pulling your shirt off as you shift. You go for his jacket (why does he wear so many layers all the time?), determined to even the playing field. 

He’s looking at you like a starved man again, like he _needs_ you. Even if you weren't as turned on on as you are, you have a sneaking suspicion that the look he's giving you would do the trick. But you are as turned on as he is and you _need_ him in the same way, craving the intimacy and love that he offers. 

He locks eyes with you again and freezes with his hands on your hips, the tips of his fingers digging into the fat on them. 

“Sans?” His smirk melts away. 

“never done this with you in the light.” Your voice catches in your throat – what do you even say to something like that? “you always looked good underground, but i gotta say you have a _shine_ to you in the sun.” 

“Wow, that was lame.”  

“you make a better pun,” he grumbles at you. "especially when you're as distracted as i am right now." 

“Nah, I’d rather rattle those bones of yours,” you say as you grab at the bottom of his shirt. He allows you to peel it off of him, his hands making quick work of your bra. "You saying that I'm just a distraction?" 

"only the best kind." 

Might as well do what you (apparently) do best than. You run your fingers down his spine, instantly getting shocked by his magic. It isn't painful, but it does startle you a bit. You don't give him time to get embarrassed by that before you're running your hands down his back. 

Sans gives a happy hum above you, relaxing into your touch. It's a powerful feeling, knowing that you can make the normally reserved and guarded monster open up the way he does. You still want more. You want to make him lose control and - 

You get a beautifully wicked idea. You'd never really gotten the chance to drive Sans wild. Now is as good of a time as any to make him beg. Not yet though. You'll let him think that he's leading the show for a little longer.  

Not that that's hard to do. Your goofy skeleton was surprisingly good at seduction and he has, quite literally, magic hands. So with your plan formed, you just relax and go back into the moment.  

Sans makes quick work of the rest of your clothes, kissing down your body as he goes. He ignores the part of you want him to touch the most, choosing to kiss down your leg instead. The little kisses all feel like tiny shocks, keeping your heart racing.  

Which he hears. Of course he hears. When he sits up again, he looks so self-satisfied that you know he's hearing how he affects you. You're kind of smug too, since when he's looking at you now with a single bright blue and yellow iris. 

"want you." He crawls on top of you (still only half naked, something you desperately need to fix) and you can see that his lit up eye is hazy looking. "need you." 

You decide that there's no time like the present to strike.  

"oi," is his only half-complaint as you latch onto his ribs and toss a leg into his pelvis, encouraging him to roll with you. Once you're on top of him, you take a moment to just enjoy the view of Sans being in your bed. He's looks even healthier than he did this morning, not to mention more adorable with the blue flush across his cheekbones. After a grand total of ten seconds, he whines and thrusts up towards you.  

"Hold your horses, I'm just enjoying the view." He flushes even darker, covering his eyes with his hands, and you smile down at him. It's so cute that even after all this time with you that he still can't take a compliment. You'll help him get there. "You weren't kidding, the sun is a nice touch." 

You lean down and kiss him softly, nearly giggling at the feeling of all the tension leaving him. You sigh as his hands wrap around you. You'll relax him alright.  

When you pull away that one eye is bright, still focused on you, and he smiles back up at you.  

"If you want me to stop, just say so, okay? If you want mercy though, you'll have to beg for it." 

"sounds fun." 

You slide down his body, kissing and nipping at his bones as you go. You pay close attention to the nick on his sternum, an injury caused by countless times of being slashed by – no. Not going to think about them now. They won't ruin this. You place as much love as you can in your motions all the same.  

You shimmy a little further down, sliding down his ribs and to his spine. He moans when you suck on a vertebrae, his hands flying to your shoulders. Even lower to his pelvis, which makes his grip on you tighten. He probably didn't even mean to do it.  

He is abnormally quiet under you, nothing but tiny sounds escaping him. He doesn't fight you at all, hips raising when you paw at his shorts. He's hard, a tiny bit of liquid beading at the tip already. Should you make a joke about blue balls being a real issue for him? It'd be funny, but no. A joke feels like it'd break this peace that's settled over the two of you. 

Sans finally makes a louder noise when you trail your hand across his pelvis (you feel his magic tugging on your fingers, insistent on not being ignored) and grab his cock. He groans and arches into your touch, hips moving in time with your hand. You roll your wrist around the head after a few strokes and he shouts, hands going to dig into the pillow.  

"more. please more. babe, please." You barely hear the quiet begging that he exhales. He has no idea what he's asking for yet, but you can give more. You give him a few more pumps (making sure to listen to the quiet begging that you're pretty sure he doesn't mean for you to hear yet) before checking to see if he's looking at you. 

He's not. His loss, you think. 

You don't warn him before you swirl your tongue around the head, watching as his eyes snap to you ("oh shit!") before you pull him into your mouth. The two of you have both done some rushed oral over the past few months, but nothing quite as fun as when you'd pounced on him in his workshop. Time to deliver on what you'd promised yourself ages ago – to discover what drives Sans wild.  

"oh god. nnngh," and other things similar to that are all you hear as you experiment. He likes a hand on him along with your mouth and your other hand on his bones. Fingers that aren't yours grip your scalp. "'m close." You slow down and he groans again, but not like his other groans. "babe please-" 

You let go completely with an audible 'pop' that makes him shudder. "You just have to say stop or mercy."  

"you're unbelievable." He gulps and his hips strain towards your face. "but i'm not gonna stop you." 

Good. That makes it more fun.  As soon as you think Sans has stepped back from the edge, you keep going ("god fucking damn!"). His bones are rattling already. Poor Sans.  

You play with your pace, not letting him get used to anything. His fingers twist in your hair and that's when you decide to show mercy.  

"----, 'm close." You don't let up and he tugs at your hair lightly. "babe." Another tug with a groan. You finally glance up at him and, oh boy, are you glad you did. He's sweating, his iris large, his ribs are heaving and he moans when your eyes meet his. "not like this. i don't wanna-" 

You don't find out what he doesn't want before he's coming, head tossing back onto a pillow and arching into your mouth. As he comes down from his orgasm, you gently pull back, probably smiling like the cat that got the cream.  

"you...you...you..." Sans gives you a halfhearted glare, still breathing heavy. If you weren't smiling like that cat before, you are now.  

"Wonderful lover? Minx? Sex goddess?"  

"minx works. you're gonna pay for that," his voice has a dark promise in it. You blink and he's gone – after another second you feel him re-materialize beside you, before he's rolling you back on to your back again.  

Sans makes a point to show you his tongue before he nips at your chest, tongue soothing any spot that he gets rough with. He takes his time, mouth preoccupied with your breasts while his fingers trail (slowly, so slowly) down your sides.  

When he finally touches your clit with his fingers it’s your turn to moan. You feel him smirk for a second before he lets his mouth follow his hands down. 

"Was I this mean to you?" You twitch as his tongue touches your side.  

"mmhmm." 

He stops touching you, moving to lay between your thighs. "I'm sorry." 

"no, you're not." You look down at him and aren't surprised to see the smirk on his face. He's resting his head in one hand, smirking up at you. "and neither am i." He nips at your thigh at the same time that he pushes his fingers into you.  

Oh, he's still good at that. Muscle memory, you guess. Or is it skeletal memory?  

"stop thinking so hard."  

"Make me." 

"ok." 

Holy shit, that's his tongue. Fuck. Fuckfuckfuck. Your mind goes fuzzy under his touch. Jesus, he's good at this. He'd be awesome even without the magic, but the fact that he's made of magic makes this amazing. His magic is warm and welcoming and buzzing at you and - 

Sans is far kinder than you at least. When you let him know that you're close he just winks up at you (hadn't you done that to him once?) before doubling down on his efforts. Your orgasm hits you hard, all of your muscles tensing as hard as they can before all the tension leaves your body in a rush.  

"that looked that felt good," he says smugly. When you open your eyes again he's peering down at you, lewdly cleaning his teeth with that talented tongue.  

"It's never been bad with you." 

"heh." He presses his body into yours, ribs and hips poking into your skin. "so, uh, do you need a break or...?" 

"Not yet." You don't even have time to gloat about the absolutely adoring look he flashes you before his tongue is in your mouth, his teeth clicking against yours. You feel the spark of him summoning his magic again, jumping at the feeling of his dick being trapped between the two of you without any real warning.  

The two of you shift a little bit and then he's pressing into you and – holy fuck. It's been far too long. You make a noise that would embarrass you if you had it in you to care. Sans grunts into your mouth, pulling away only when he's pressed completely into you.  

For a moment, neither of you move. With anyone else it might be awkward to just look at each other for a bit, but it's not for the two of you. There's so much love radiating off of him and onto you (you can feel the magic in his bones still pulling at you, trying to tug you even closer) and it's perfect.  

"so perfect," he murmurs. "i love you."

"I love you too. So much." 

The two of you move at the same time, him pulling away and you rolling your hips, effortlessly syncing back up. The two of you find a pace that works for the two of you, a pace that you'd only been able to try a few times before. It's rough and fast, slow and easy, loving and playful. It's hands and mouths and SOULs. 

You can tell when Sans is getting close. His bones begin to rattle and he grits his teeth a bit, sweating pouring off of him. You're so close too, but not close enough. You need more. More of what? Physically everything is perfect. God, you just want to come with him a

"do you trust me?" Sans seems to know what you need at least. You nod. "need you to say it," he growls more than says the last bit.  

"Yes!" 

There's the feeling of Sans' magic on your SOUL. The same feeling that you remember before he pulls out your SOUL, except without him holding back. It's like how much he loves you and wants you is tangible for a second and – the dam breaks. You practically scream, your fingers tighten around his ribs, the magic feeling on your SOUL vanishes right before Sans snarls and you feel the warmth of magic inside you.  

"Holy shit." You gulp.  

"holy shit is right." Sans collapses onto you, heavily breathing.   

The two of you take a few minutes to catch your breath, wrapping around each other. Once you catch your breath, you need to know -  "What was that?" 

He's quiet at first, so quiet that you start to wonder if he's fallen asleep on you again, that you jump a bit when he does finally speak up. "think of it," he chuckles at your jerky motion for a second, "think of it as SOUL foreplay." 

"That's a thing?" 

"mhmm. i'll explain later, don't feel like talking that much." 

"You tired skeleton man?" 

"worked me down to the bone." 

"Oh my god." 

"not really tired," he finally says. "just cozy." 

Sans rolls to one side of you, pulling you with him. He does look cozy, relaxing almost bonelessly. Your heart and SOUL give a pleasant twist at the sight (he's home, there's so much you two need to talk about, but he's really home!) of the monster in your bed.  

"we should probably talk before we meet with asgore." 

"Probably." Oh, you don't want to be responsible. You only have a few hours of just the two of you, why waste them talking about Asgore or Gaster or hell, anything depressing. You can worry about everything else later, right? 

He looks about as ready to talk as you feel.  

"I have an idea." He raises a browbone at you, clearly waiting for you to share it. "We can snuggle on the couch, eat leftover pizza, I'll introduce you to stupid human shows, and we can talk as we get our snug on." 

"that sounds awesome. hey, that's mine!" You smirk as you steal his shirt, throwing it on as you get up. 

"I’ll give it back later. Now, c'mon! Pizza awaits!" He grumbles, tugging his shorts back up before he follows you to the living room.  

Five minutes later the two of you are cuddled up on the couch, happily munching on pizza, like he's been here with you the entire time. Together, you ignore the conversations that you should be having. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have a 100% totally legit reason that it's been six days since I uploaded. I thought I was gonna get fucked over by a hurricane, then my old computer died for the last time (probably, I dunno. Fuck that thing.), and then my mom decided to swing in for the weekend! 
> 
> But now I'm back and with a new computer!


	87. We Need to Talk

It doesn't take long for the nature documentary you put on to shift to background noise for you and maybe only five more minutes for the novelty to wear off for Sans. You'd hoped it would last longer, that the show would capture Sans' mind and, in turn, yours as well; but it didn't look like that was happening today. The fact that the two of you needed to talk kept you both distracted.   

You wish Sans would speak up. You don't want to be the one to 'ruin' the moment, no matter how important it is.  You're resting in his arms, both of you sideways on the couch, his summoned yet invisible body keeping you comfortable as you lay on him.  

"so, what now?"  

You can’t help the laugh that bubbles out of you at that. His body tenses below you, a movement you feel from his very bones, which helps you calm down a bit. You don't want to upset him. When you move to make eye contact he doesn't look hurt necessarily, just confused.  

"I'm sorry. I just," you have to stop to giggle for a second again, "I asked myself that same question this morning and decided not to ask since every time I ask it, it just kind of... works out, I guess?" He snickers, understanding you instantly. It's true, any problems between the two of you have just sort of worked themselves out over time. "But I always just kind of imagined we'd pick right back up here." 

"really? i mean, you really still want this?" 

It's all you can do to keep the sarcasm in. "Yes Sans. I still want you with me. You and Papyrus. Frisk and I've both missed you." The light in his eyes soften at that and you don't know if it's from you mentioning Papyrus, Frisk, or both of them. "We found this place with a realtor's help so I bet as long as we stay with them and jump through some hoops that we can upgrade to a three or four bedroom with no real penalty." 

"i'll see what paps wants to do." He's grinning up at you the same way he had when you'd agreed to bond with him.  "don't get me wrong. since you still want me, you're stuck with me. i just want to make sure pap knows he has options." 

"Wouldn't have it any other way." You wouldn't. You really wouldn't.

"speaking of paps, I need your help by the way. he has a birthday next month and it's been at least three years since i've done this. it's a big one for you humans and i want to make sure that he has-" 

"Hell yes I will! He'll be twenty-one, right?" This will be fun. What can you do for him? It needs to be awesome. 

"yeah." 

"Anything for my brother in- er, Paps." You're coming on too strong, stop it. It's futile hoping that Sans didn't catch it and you know it. 

"what were you going to say?" You can't read his tone or his face suddenly and you feel your face start to flame. Shit. 

"Anything for my brother-in-law?" You squeak it out around the nervousness in your throat – too strong, way too strong ----. 

"he is, isn't he?" He presses a kiss to your temple and you melt into him again.  "i like the sound of that." 

The same way that everything had changed when you'd shared your SOULs with one another, everything has shifted again. From that moment in Hotland you'd known where this was heading (even if your mind did sometimes like to remind you that the two of you hadn't even know each other a year, no matter how much your SOUL told your mind to kindly fuck off), things had shifted slightly again when he'd asked you to bond with him, but now? All the seriousness catches up to you in the best way – the butterflies of this monster being with you are back with a vengeance.  

You need to tell him. You sit up so that you're just sitting between his legs, your hands finding his. You shoot him a smile that he easily returns. 

Deep breath in. 

You can do this. 

Deep breath out. 

You've got this. 

"So I met your dad." There. It's out there. 

You hear the narrator kick back on, droning on about migration habits of some animal that you've already forgotten about. Sans sockets are wide, the smile still glued to his face, as he digests your words. 'So I met your dad'. You could have said it differently.  

You know he thinks you're joking at first, but once it clicks he snaps to attention. He sits up, smile fading and sockets darkening.  

"you w h a t?"  

"Before Asgore could kill me, Gaster stopped time." 

Silence stretches between the two of you at first. You'll let him lead this conversation that you don’t know how to have. Cowardly? Yes, but you don't know how to do this.

The lights of his eyes return, although they're much smaller and duller.  "tell me. please. tell me everything." 

So you do.  

"I feel like I'm forgetting something," is how you start it off. You tell him about the being that stopped time. How the Delta Rune around your neck had been his (Sans glowers at the pendant that you still wear around your neck once you mention that). About the darkness that shifted into a monster that resembled both Papyrus and him. About how he said that you'd see him again. How he seemed to know what was going to happen. How he showed you other timelines. 

Sans is remarkably quiet while you talk and afterwards. You can almost hear the cogs turning in his head, him processing and reprocessing your words.  

"we always said that he wasn't really gone, but i never thought... never thought he'd be able to actually come back. " 

"He said that Chara got to him." Sans scoffs. "That when he took their SOUL that their determination let them linger. That," you pause to remember. Damn you for not insisting on telling Sans right away! "That once the sixth child died they were able to push him into the DT extractor. That I was talking to a bit of him that existed before he took Chara's DT." 

"there's no way. no, no, i believe you! Just... it doesn't sound like him. my gaster wasn't helpful. not unless he had something to gain from it." 

"He said something about redemption?" 

Sans just drops your hands to run them over his skull. You can feel the aggravation rolling off of him in spades, his slightly manic magic buzzing in the air. 

"what'd he look like?"  

"Physically? Tall like Papyrus, but with the eyes like yours. Two cracks on his skull, I think?" Was there anything else? Sans still doesn't seem convinced that the monster you'd met was actually Gaster. "Oh! Holes in the palms of his hands." 

Sans snaps to his feet as soon as the word 'palms' is out of your mouth. The magic in the air feels heavier now, like it's pressing down on you. It's not touching your SOUL directly, but you know it's his magic freaking out.

"no. no, no, no, no. he can't be back. he can't be. no. he was supposed to be gone. he was gone. we were free. papyrus was safe." 

"Sans," you keep your voice low and your motion slow as you try to comfort your now pacing boyfriend. "Papyrus is still safe. You're still safe." 

"but he's back. or could be coming back." Sans sounds so broken that it catches you off guard. You hadn't expected him to take it well, but you hadn't expected this. You should have and you know it. Your abuser may not have been family, but you can at least kind of understand the crushing hopelessness. "being able to talk to you... that's not good. how could he...?" 

Sans whips around to look at you, the depression shifting to anger before you can blink. "why are you still wearing that goddamn thing?" 

You flinch. He's not going to hurt you and you know it, but the anger still makes you recoil a bit. "He saved me. The necklace kept me safe for so long that I figured it couldn't hurt to keep wearing it. You told me to keep it on before. Plus, I forget it's there most days anyway."  

“you _forget_ that there's a magical pendant around your neck that apparently is a direct line to gaster?” It's been a long time since you've seen Sans this angry. When you'd been preparing yourself like a lamb to the slaughter, he’d backed away before he could get like this. The same for when he saw you training with Undyne. This anger… it's been since the last timeline. 

You feel immensely guilty for breaking the spell of the afterglow. 

“I'm sorry. I tried to tell you before-“ 

“you should have made me listen, ----. what if he's after you? what if-“ Sans takes a deep breath, pinching just above his nasal cavity, sinking into himself when he exhales. “you don't need to be sorry.” 

Sans sighs again, dropping back down on the couch. “i’m scared. i'm scared for all of us.” 

“S’okay.” His shifting moods are worrying you.  

“did I scare you? i didn't mean to, i just-“  

“Sans, stop.” You sit next to him, gently reaching for the top of his spine. “Stop apologizing. I may not know Gaster like you do, but I have a pretty good idea what you're feeling right now. One day, I'd like for you to tell me more about why you're so upset, but for right now you don't have to.” He finally looks at you again, those oddly expressive lights darting over your features. 

“you aren't scared of me?” 

“Scared for you, not of you.”  

“it’s just always him.” Sans sinks into you, you moving to comfort him. “everything that goes wrong just seems to always go back to him. remembering the resets? apparently him. the resets themselves? apparently him. chara? him.” 

“what you saw yesterday was partially his fault too. asgore blocked me from the void, but only the void. i still had all my own magic, just no way to touch the void.”  

You don't push him when he stops talking, no matter how much you want to. You want to know why he was so worked up yesterday, but you know pushing him won't help. So you let him curl into you, the side of his skull pressed to your chest.  

You feel a surge of love in you when he snuggles closer and you figure out that he's listening to your heartbeat.  

“gaster tied part of me to the void when he injected me with determination. or i think he did. i felt like i couldn't breathe right. it was like… god, it was like i was cut off from something i needed. when he lifted his magic off of mine, it took everything in me to control it." 

Oh. That explains last night. You let your fingers trail to his skull, drawing small shapes, as you think and comfort him. No wonder he freaked out on you. You can remember him telling you that he hadn't always been able to summon the blasters or shortcut. Hell, he'd shown you that determination-filled needle going into his very SOUL. 

Not only was he just regaining a magic that was more vital to him than he'd realized, he'd also just learned that Gaster wasn't as far off as he'd thought. If you'd been in his shoes, you would have probably thrown a bone through something.  

It takes a few minutes of quiet, but Sans gradually relaxes completely against you. As much as you'd love to spend the rest of today like this, comforting and taking comfort from Sans, but the real world is waiting right outside the door. Your meeting with Asgore is coming up faster than you care to think about, so you need to nudge this conversation along. 

Sans beats you to it. "'m sorry. shouldn't have blown up like that around you." 

"It's fine. You're allowed to be," human isn't the right word, "...imperfect. You're allowed to be angry." Sans stares you down, looking for a sign that you're lying. When he doesn't find one (because you aren't), he cracks a tiny smile at you.  

"promise you're ok?" 

"Promise. Although you should probably work on actually letting these things out before they just boil over."  

"that's kind of funny coming from you."  

"You're lucky you're cute." Sans snickers softly, his mood already improving. "How much longer until I have to be responsible?" 

" _we_ have to be responsible in about three hours. what? did you think you were going alone? asgore knows about us now. i may have, uh, spilled the beans on that one. so yeah, we." 

It makes you feel much better that you'll have Sans and Tori with you when you see Asgore. You won't be alone with him in a room. You'd talked with him semi-alone, yes, but Frisk had been there and you'd been out in the open with him. Mentally, you know that Asgore (probably) has no reason to hurt you, you see that trident of his inches from your sternum. 

"but should we talk about chara?"

"Yes, but haven't we had enough serious talk for now?"

"babe-"

This isn't something you want to be thinking about. "So what do you want to do for the next little while?" Come on Sans, be a distraction.  

He does.  

Bony fingertips trail up your thigh. "i can think of a few things." 

"Horny skeleton monster."  

"you know it." 

You have a feeling that you'll be late for your meeting with the king. 


	88. The Meeting

In the month that you'd been separated from everyone, a lot has changed. Gone are the sleeping bags and blankets on the ground. In their place, large tents have sprung up. There's even a few crudely put together wooden structures in a few spots. It's almost like a small town in its own right.   

The thought makes your heart hurt – these people _deserve_ _d_ to live wherever they wanted from the get go. Instead, humanity had shunned them (again) and yet everyone looks so happy to be where they are. That makes your heart hurt even more.

The smiles you get as soon as you and Sans are recognized make your SOUL nearly burst. You're still terrified of what's about to happen, but the warm welcome takes the edge off.

 “----! You're back!” 

“Sans! You brought her home!”  

“----!” 

 “ _\----!”_ Oh, there's a voice you've missed. You barely have time to look at him before you're yanked from Sans’ grip and your world spins in a warm hug. 

“Grillby!”  

“ _I was so worried about you until the other night! Good call on pulling on our connection, but why did it take you so long?”_  

You wait for Sans to complain since you hadn't mentioned that. You'd honestly forgotten about it in the excitement of seeing him again. It doesn't come. When you manage to sneakily glance at Sans, he still just looks happy. 

"I wish I knew," you say as Grillby places you back on the ground. "You look good, fireball." He does – his flames seem brighter and less restrained than they had underground.

" _As do you. And Sans, you look much better! I'm glad to see you looking less, pardon the word, skeletal."_  

 _"_ what's that supposed to mean?"  

"You look healthier Sans. You didn't look so good last night. You still look thinner somehow." Sans' cheeks darker at your words.  

"taking care of myself wasn't really a priority." You feel the glare slip onto your face towards Sans and he recoils. You'd assumed as much, but to hear him admit it... How many times had you talked to him about taking care of himself?  

" _So I overheard that you have a meeting with_ _Asgore_ _. Any ideas on what it's about?"_ Grillby takes pity on Sans and draws your attention again.  

"No idea. Sans thinks it's going to bureaucratic nonsense." 

" _It's definitely that."_ Grillby gives your hair an affection rustle, a smile playing in his flames. " _I've missed you, ----. I'll leave you two to your meeting. See you afterwards?"_  

 _"_ Of course!" You wave as Sans grabs your hand again, his bony palm against your fleshy one, leading you through the town. "I'm glad you're better now, Sans. Does Grillby know...?" 

"about my magic being blocked? yep. paps and tori know too. they're the only three that i told." 

"How'd Tori take that?"  

Sans face twists into a mischievous grin. "not well. thought asgore was gonna get some fire magic to the tail." 

"Depending on how this meeting goes, he still might," Tori's bell-like voice chimes from behind you. Both you and Sans jump apart and she erupts into giggles. "Don't tempt me Sans," she says as she opens her arms for you. 

You throw yourself into her arms.

"I've missed you goat mom." She laughs into your shoulder, her fur tickling the side of your face.  

"I've missed you too, but we'll talk later! You have a meeting with Asgore that I promised to be there for. If we get to talking, two friends that haven't had a real talk in ages, we may just... forget about him. We could go grab Frisk from Papyrus and all play around and eat pie." She winks as she lets you go. 

"oi, what about me?" 

"You can go for us," she taunts and you're impressed by the ease that she talks to Sans. There's none of the awkwardness that you thought you would see between them, just an old camaraderie. "Go for us and report back." 

"nah, that's more paps kind of thing." The three of you keep moving, Tori keeping a snail's pace so that you and Sans can keep up. "too much work for my lazy bones." 

"Secret Agent Sans sounds kind of hot," you nudge him with your elbow. Neither you or Tori are the kind of people to back out on something like this, but it feels so good to flirt and tease.  The thought of Sans in a suit is kind of hot too.

"you'll have to use your imagination for that fantasy. too lazy for espionage."  

"You say you're lazy and yet you're walking back up the mountain. Asgore holds his meetings in the throne room still,” she explains to you, “he thinks its pretentious, but there aren't any makeshift solutions for a tall monster like him.”  

“Does that mean that there are still monsters underground?” 

“yep. mostly water monsters like onion-san, but a few others were still waiting for it to be safer.” 

“I can't say I blame them.” Hopefully that's changing starting today.  

 

* * *

 

The throne room looks different from the last time you saw it. The throne that was in the center of the room is gone, replaced with a long ornate table. The flowers, which you think you remember being well cared for before, are positively flourishing.  

The room is missing one king.  

“Four hundred years later and he’s still the same.” You don't miss the fondness hiding in Tori’s annoyed tone. “I was always the one reminding him of his meetings.”  

“told you we could have taken our time.” You refuse to look at Sans, not sure you can handle what your sure would be a _very_ heated look. In order to make sure that you two weren't actually late for this, you had sadly needed to put an abrupt end to the naked cuddling.  

You're saved from needing to answer by voices echoing into the chamber. You recognize the quiet rumble as Asgore, but the other voice is a mystery.  

The first person to enter the room doesn't belong to either voice. 

“Punk!” Undyne sounds exhausted, but perks up at the sight of you. She rushes forward, a blur of blue and red, tackling you into a hug, Sans’ grip on your hand the only thing that keeps you from toppling over. "I take back almost every time I called you lazy Sans. Today has been one of the hardest days I've ever dealt with." 

"You think this is hard? Really Undyne?" Undyne's entire body goes rigid and Sans' grip tightens on yours when a voice you don’t recongize speaks up. "What sort of captain are you? That human could have killed you by now. I thought you of all monsters would be smarter than that." 

"Yes, the human that helped free us and let us run experiements on her is going to kill me," Undyne's tone is dry as she puts you down. She mouths 'sorry' to you before she spins around and you can't help but notice that she's shielding you from view. "She's going to kill us all before we can make a single move." 

"Undyne, I'm not going to hurt ----. You can move," Asgore chuckles. Undyne grunts lightly before she stands aside. "Good evening to you both. I'm sorry that I couldn't let you know why I summoned you, ----."  

Asgore looks tired still, you notice. He's standing tall (a quiver of fear twinges in your SOUL that you stomp down), but his face is far kinder than it was the first time you saw him in this room. He still looks tired and sad, but not defeated. Next to him is what looks like a... turtle monster? Tortoise monster? He looks ancient with his yellow eyes, beard, and how he's hunched over.  

"What are you lookin' at?"  

Whoops, you were staring.  "Just trying to place if I've met you or not."  

"No, we haven't. I would have taken you straight to Asgore if you'd run into me. We would have been free months ago."  

"This is-" Undyne begins. 

"I am-" 

"Gerson, the hammer of justice and former captain of the royal guard," Undyne and Gerson say together. You don't miss Gerson's emphasis on _captain_ and Undyne's on _former_.  

"It's nice to meet you. I've gotta say, I'm glad I'm only meeting you now than." There, that's charming, right? Or not – Gerson just glares at you, his eyes settling on the hand of yours that Sans is holding.  

"Well, shall we get started?" Bless you, Tori. "It is dinner time and I'm sure ---- would prefer Frisk not be up all night." 

"Of course, Toriel. Please, sit." Asgore motions to sit. Once everyone except Undyne is sitting (apparently, she was subbing in for Sans today), Asgore smiles towards you. "I'm glad you came. I was worried that you would refuse giving the circumstances of our last meeting." 

Your mind snaps back to him with a trident pointed at your chest. "I thought about it." 

"I don't blame you. I'm sure you've guessed what this is about by now. I just want to make sure that our stories are the same. Thank you for refusing to speak about your time underground, by the way. I'll be forever indebted for you for that." 

You sure as hell aren't going to say 'no problem' or 'any time' to that.  

"Er. So, the official narrative is that all of the fallen children died of natural causes. Be it the fall itself, silly stunts pulled while underground, or sickness." 

"None by being impaled by a weapon than?" It slips out before you can contain it, the tiny bit of sass and bravery (and stupidity) that you had saved in you. The result is instantonous.  

Gerson snaps to, summoning a large mallet. There's a blur of blue, green, white, and orange in front of you, sparks meeting where they all meet. Between the green mallet and you, there's a blue spear and a white bone lodged in the table and Tori has her arm in from of your chest, a ball of fire ready to go. 

"How dare you! All of you! Traitors!"  

"I know you did not just call me a traitor, Gerson." Tori's tone is icy and you see Gerson flinch. 

"Gerson, please." Asgore is the only one that hadn't tried to fight. He doesn't even sound angry with you, just tired. Despite everything, you can't help but feel bad about that. "It's a valid point, I'm afraid." 

"No, it's not! You can't stand for this, Asgore! You need to be strong!" 

"it's not your place to say what our king should be gerson." 

"You don't get to speak to me," Gerson hisses. "Not about this. You betrayed your kind, skeleton." 

"Gerson," Asgore's voice has a warning in it. 

"Humans are dangerous. Too lazy to do your job, content to just see where the pieces fall. Just like your dad. You not only offer two humans sanctuary and safety, you _fall in love with one._ "  

Sans growls next to you and you feel the light pulling of the void against your hand. Shit. Pulling a Blaster would be one hell of an escalation that you don't think there would be any coming back form. 

"Sans, don't!" 

"Gerson..." 

"You shouldn't even entertained the thought of bonding with a human. They bring nothing but heartache and destruction. Instead you got close enough to share your SOUL with one. What's next? Bonding? Breeding? You'll end up a shell of a monster just like that fiery friend of yours."  Sans snarls and you lurch forward, determined to get your hands on Gerson. Tori shifts, grabbing you across your chest at the last second like a seatbelt, yanking you back before you could launch yourself over the spear and bone.

"Gerson, **that's enough**!" Asgore shoves himself out of his chair, glaring down at his former captain. "Everyone, put your magic away. **Now**. Undyne, please accompany Gerson back to camp. I believe we all could use a break from this." 

"But you need a -" 

"Not another word. Neither the queen or I are in any danger." Gerson seems to realize that he may have crossed a line, since he leaves the table right away, glaring at you the entire time.  

"C'mon old man," Undyne says, "Let's go work on your reflexes. That was a horrible draw." 

Then there is silence. Tori lets you go and Asgore has a thousand mile stare over your head for a good minute before he finally meets your eyes again. 

"Sorry about that. Gerson forgets he's retired from time to time. Apparently he's going senile as well, since humans are no longer considered an enemy." 

"What are we considered?" You flinch at the harshness in your own tone. "Sorry, I mean, what are we considered?" You manage to sound much calmer the second time.

"Friends," he says. "I'll spare you the boring details, but humanity has apologized as a whole for their past actions. Only a few people in very high positions even knew that we were mentioned in historic texts and even they pushed us off a myth."  

"So to answer your question, no. None died by my hand nor another monster's hand. To tell that truth would cause unnecessary strife. I feel that we have plenty of that coming our way, don't you think?" 

"I do. So I just need to say that they all died young by accident? That's it?" 

"Not all of it, but yes. The only other thing I need to ask of you is to stick to this story with how you broke the barrier – the SOULs we that we possessed had already weakened its power and your SOUL was able to overpower it. That's it. None of us understand how of course. Doctor Alphys was just testing a hypothesis." 

"so we just aren't going to mention that we would have killed ----?" 

"That's right." 

"I can do that," you speak before Sans can. You can still feel the remnants of his offensive magic on your hand, ready to be used again to defend you. "That part isn't necessarily a lie." The irony of you lie is almost funny. Almost. 

"May I speak to the two of you alone?" 

"Asgore, ---- wants me here," Tori says.  

"That's why I asked." 

"It's fine. I'm sure Asriel and Frisk are getting hungry," you add when she starts to object. "I'm sure. Thanks for being willing to do this." 

"Fine. I'll start dinner, but I expect you both there for it in an hour! I'll see if I can round up some friends to see you too." Tori manages to somehow give Asgore a pointed look and you a huge smile in quick succession.  

"Of course. Thank you." Asgore sounds so stiff and awkward when he talks to Tori. 

"I want to learn how Tori does that," you whisper to Sans. "Those faces that she does." 

"i hope you don't. i don't want them used on me." 

Asgore chuckles and you flush. "She is rather good at it, isn't she? It didn't take her long to remember how to do it either." When he sits back down, he looks much more relaxed and less scary. Instead of a prim and proper king, he slouches and takes off his crown. "Much better. It's nice not to be a king for a few minutes." 

"you're always a king." 

"It's nice not to have to act like a king. You can both relax, this isn't an official meeting anymore. I'd offer you both tea, but I think this needs to be a quick talk. I don't want to make Toriel angry. Angrier, I mean." 

Asgore sighs softly, his gaze softening. "I hate that I need to tell you guys this at all, but please, be careful. Not for me, but for yourselves and the people that love you." 

You quickly glance at Sans when his grip on your hand loosens. His jaw is slightly slack – apparently this isn't what he was expecting. It wasn't what you were expecting either. You don't know what you were expecting honestly, but this wasn't it.  

"I'm not some horrible king, Sans. I felt bad enough keeping you from ---- to begin with, but I've felt terrible since I learned that she's your soulmate." Asgore moves a hand across the table slowly, reaching towards you. "I'm sorry that I kept Sans from you. I was worried about humans not taking kindly to the knowledge that some monsters have magic that could be used for... more sinister purposes." 

"No matter what, the two of you will always be the first relationship like this in centuries. Many of us monsters see us for what that is." 

"and what is that?" 

"Beautiful. Natural."  

"Not everyone thinks that." Gerson clearly didn't. 

"No, not every monster does. I'm asking you to be careful because if history tells me anything, it's that humans won't take your relationship well... I want you both to live long and happy lives. Humans aren't as accepting as we are and... the two of you are going to enrage a lot of people. Some monsters even." 

"so we aren't going to be popular. what are you telling us to do exactly?" Sans sounds annoyed next to you.

"Nothing. I'm asking you to be careful. I'd advise against bonding anytime soon just in case, but I'm not going to command you to do anything." 

"in case of what?"

"Violence." Violence like what happened to Joan. You shudder at the memory of Grillby's tragic tale.

You wish he would have asked if you both wanted tea. You desperately want something to fiddle with, to act like a distraction while you think. A reason –any reason- to look away from Asgore. You don't want to be careful. You'd spent your entire time underground being careful and looking over your shoulder. Sans had done the same. 

"Now, I believe we have a dinner to make it to and you two have some rounds to make beforehand. Please just be on time for Toriel, I really don't feel like having that fire magic pointed at me today." 

He withdraws his hand as he stands again, looking at the marks on the table as he does.  "Sans, you'll be getting a third of the cost of repairing this docked from your pay." 

As the three of you head back to the camp, Asgore talking about the wild flora of the area and his hopes for the future, you see what Frisk sees in Asgore. 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. Dishonor on me, dishonor on my cow...
> 
> Spawn got sick and then I got sick and and and it's just been a miserable week. But you got 3,000 plus words out of it?


	89. Catching Up

“So do you try to physically harm everyone who disagrees with you or just monsters?” 

You're in the middle of chewing when Mettaton gets sassy with you. Of course instead of answering, you laugh. So, yay, choking.  

“----YOU HIT SOMEONE ELSE?” 

More coughing. You can breathe and shake your head, but talking isn't happening.  

“babe, you ok?” You shoot Sans a thumbs up. You'll be fine. You're going to be a snotty and teary mess from the feel of it, but you'll survive.  

“She didn't actually hit him, but oh my god, it was fantastic. If Lady T hadn't been there…” Through your blurred vision you see Tori shoot Undyne a quick glare. "It's a good thing you were! But... oh man. ----, I think I love you." 

"'Dyne, g-going after Gerson isn't a g-g-good t-thing." 

Grillby's flames dance across the table from you in what you can only guess is pleasure. "You didn't?" 

"Please babe, just let me enjoy the memory. Beautiful. I never thought when I started to train you that you'd go after Gerson."  

" _Oh my god, you did. Wonderful. Wonderful. I owe you- I don't even know what I owe you_ _, but I owe you."_ Grillby's voice is gleeful.  

You finally manage to stop coughing, tears blurring your vision. "Glad I could make you proud," you rasp as you wipe your face with a napkin. Deep breaths. 

" _I thought violence wasn't the answer sis."_  

"Isn't. Shouldn't have done what I did." 

"That's enough of this conversation. ----, are you sure you're fine?" Tori glares at all of you from her spot at the table, her glare only dropping when she returns her attention to the kids next to her.  You nod your head again, too busy sucking liquid to try and ease the burning in your throat to use your words.

"Sorry Lady T," Undyne manages to sound sorry until she looks at you again, "Still proud of you punk." 

For a few minutes, there's nothing but the sounds of dishes clanking and people eating. Per usual, Tori's cooking is excellent! Grillby had apparently helped out as well, but his main contribution had been some of his 'private stash' of monster alcohol. 

 You even dare to eat a snail. Er, escargot. Paired with a giant swig of booze just in case.  

"this is a _shell_ of a meal, tori." There's a small chorus of groans and giggles from around the table. 

" _Peas_ Sans, you flatter me too much."  

"WHY ME?" 

"S-so ----, w-what have you b-been up too?" Alphys asks while eyeing a visibly perturbed Papyrus.  

"Nothing super interesting. My old waitressing gig took me back and put me behind the bar, so that helps pay the bills, and I make sure Frisk is actually doing their schoolwork. On my days off we get out of the house and go around Ebott." 

"Are you still training?"   

"I try to. No one kicks my butt quite like you can Undyne." Undyne practically glows in self satisfaction, showing off all her sharp teeth. "So what do you all plan to do now that you're free to explore the world?"  

"I think I might just explore the world before I re-open my bar. I have some gold stashed away and once it's useable up here... Well, it's been five hundred years," Grillby gives a one-shouldered shrug.  

"I'm going to keep guarding Asgore for a while. Figure out what to do from there. Tell her your plan Alph!" 

"I'm g-going t-to get my d-degrees accredited! I d-don't k-know wh-what I want to f-focus on yet, b-but..."  

"That’s awesome!" It really is. Undyne over the past few months has really helped build the young scientist's self confidence back up. Rather than focusing on the bad all the time, Alphys seems like she's managed to look at the positives most of the time again. Or at least it seems that way if she's willing to keep working in a lab.    

"I'll be working on opening a school," Tori flashes a huge smile before ruffling Asriel's fur, "and spending time with this munchkin."  

"Mom!" His small embarassed groan is the first word you'd heard him say all night. "Not a munchkin." He sounds so _normal._  

"BUT YOU ARE, SMALL PRINCE! AT LEAST FOR NOW. NYEH HEH HEH! I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WANT TO DO YET, BUT IT'S GOING TO GREAT NO MATTER WHAT I DO!" 

"don't you mean punderful?" Papyrus gives a medium-pitched shriek and you elbow Sans, telling him to be nice. 

"Of course it is Paps!" You speak over Sans half-hearted protests of 'just tryna tickle some funny bones'. "You can do whatever you want." 

"I agree, Papyrus!" You don't mess the heated look that Mettaton flashes toward Papyrus. When had that happened? "You'll be great at whatever you chose to do," he purrs and you think you feel Sans blow a gasket next to you. 

Holy fuck. Mettaton had just managed a full conversation about plans without interjecting about himself. You discreetly pinch yourself. Yep, you're awake. 

"What about you Mett?"  

"Me? Oh! Of course! I'll be picking my best movies and shows to build a portfolio or... whatever you humans call it. Maybe a few acting classes just to say I have some training. I'll be a star up here too, mark my words."  

You have no doubts that Mettaton will find some way to be famous up here too. 

"Just leave the chainsaws at home and I'm sure." 

Mettaton pretends to pout about that for the rest of dinner. Or at least you hope that pout is pretend. 

 

* * *

 

Frisk passes out after dessert. It's not really an exaggeration either. One moment they were talking to Undyne, the next they're snoring softly on Sans' shoulder. Taking their cue, you give some hushed 'see you laters' along with getting new phone numbers before Sans offers to walk Frisk to your car for you. 

"Are you coming back with us?" You wait to ask until you're outside, just in case he doesn't want everyone to know his business. 

"nah, let me know when you're home and i'll pop in. figured i'd go ahead and talk to paps tonight." 

"Makes sense." 

An easy silence stretches over the two of you as you make the short trip, the sounds of wildlife and Frisk's heavy breathing the only noises around you. When you get to the car, gesture him to wait a second as you recline the seat for Frisk. Somehow, they don't wake up. Even through sitting them down and buckling them up. 

"see you in a bit?" 

"Duh," you mumur as you press a kiss to his temple. "Make sure you tell Paps he's always welcome." Sans mimics your 'duh' as he waves you off and you leave with a strong sense of hope in your very SOUL. 

 

* * *

 

Frisk only wakes up long enough to change into pajamas. You don't even make them brush their teeth. They'd changed and just crawled into bed. You make a note to ask them what has them so tired before ten at night; you've only seen them this tired once after all and it wasn't for anything good.  

You shoot Sans a quick text before settling in on the couch. Today was probably the perfect day. You'd gotten some alone time with Sans, told him about Gaster, saw all your friends, and had your meeting with Asgore.  

Probably shouldn't have let the old turtle monster get under your skin the way he did. Why had Grillby been so ecstatic about you charging at him anyways? You frown, trying to remember if he'd been mentioned before. Before you can give it the 'Breaking News' logo comes on as the night anchors weigh in on the monster situation. 

"In a shocking turn of events, Monsters are now legal citizens. According to the new laws passed today, effective immediately, discrimination of any kind will be illegal." At least humanity was getting that right. "While they can leave their camp, only select humans will be allowed into their camp in the beginning for their safety. Even less will be allowed underground." 

There's the static feeling in the air around you. 

"Now," another anchor speaks up, "how is that fair? What are they hiding that we can't-" 

"you watching this garbage?" 

"I had to do something while I was waiting for you. No Paps?" 

"nope. he's 'training' with undyne bright and early."  

"Sounds ominous." 

"with those two it is. they both took to trying to solve the human horoscopes the other day when tori banned them from the kitchen." 

"What'd they get banned for?" 

"undyne decided to mix with her spears again." You can't stop the snort of laughter that peels out of you. It's so Undyne. "papyrus was encouraging her, yelling at her to put some backbone into it." His grin is almost sinister as he pretends to wipe tears from the corners of his sockets. "don't know if I've ever been so proud of him before." 

"You're always proud of him Sans." You pat the spot on the couch next to you and, needing no more encouragement, he joins you. Instead of sitting, he slides down so his head is in your lap. The two of you watch the news together, your fingers drawing shapes on the top of his skull. "So, what now?" You parrot his words from earlier.  

"didn't we already do this today?" He sounds almost dazed. 

"Sort of. You didn't share your plans at dinner."  

"i don't really have any," he admits softly after a minute, "i know frisk said they wouldn't but..." 

"You've been waiting for a reset," you finish his thought for him. 

"yeah." You get distracted when the show switches to footage from earlier today. There's a person walking around downtown Ebbot, conducting on the street interviews. Most of the people seem to be excited to your relief. "to be happy." 

"Huh?" 

Sans gives a tired chuckle from your lap. "that's my plan. to be happy." 

"I think that's a good plan."


	90. Soul Food

That next week passes extremely quickly. It's like you blinked a few times and it’s over. The protests were already losing steam and the media coverage moving on to the next best thing. Frisk had, in a flurry of work and pending a test result, finished the third grade. Sans and Papyrus had both officially yet unofficially moved in as well, all their stuff brought up in a few quick shortcuts.  

It feels like just a few minutes ago that you and Sans had tiredly dragged yourselves off of the couch after that long day and fallen into bed after a long day and –poof!- now it's right before you have to leave for work and Sans is plugging away at your computer. He looks deep in thought, frowning and chewing on his thumb.  

"What's got you racking your skull?" 

"resume. never had to actually make one before." He glances over at you and then does a double take, laughing to himself. "what? you don't believe that i got all my jobs on charm alone?" 

"Depends on if you charm was in the sack or not." You wink and he just winks back. Flirt. "Sans, I have enough to take care of you and Paps for a while. You guys took care of me and then me and Frisk. I-" 

"nope. i want to." 

"You want to work?" You raise an eyebrow. That's almost unbelievable. Actually, there's no 'almost' about it.  It is unbelievable.

"what do you know about inertia?"  

"Something about objects and outside forces?"  

"bingo. 'm another week from not working ever again." He flashes you a brilliant smile that practically screams 'deflection' at you before he focuses on the screen again. 

"Not true," you say as you grab a granola bar to scarf down. "You've been working for Asgore right?" 

"that's not really work. it's boring and i can't sleep doing that. everyone would have my ass if i let asgore get dusted." 

"You don’t have an ass," you say before pressing a kiss to his forehead. "Papyrus is in charge of dinner tonight." 

"ok. and that's what you think. maybe i do." 

You roll your eyes as you walk out the door.

 

* * *

 

 " _Sis, you're home late_." You hear the small amount of judgment in Frisk's voice when you finally make it back home that night.  

"I got asked to stay late. How was your day squirt?"  

"Not a squirt. It was good though." Frisk grimaces for a second before their voice echoes privately in your mind, " _Papyrus found the Food Network today. Sans had to work so... I tried to stop him. I really did."_  

_"_ Oh god," you whisper. "I'm afraid to look at the kitchen."  

"----, YOU'RE HOME! EXCELLENT! I FOUND THE MOST AMAZING CHANNEL. ER, DON'T TELL METTATON THAT." 

"I wouldn't dream of it." You take a deep breath and step into the kitchen and - 

It's in one piece. Phew. Papyrus had made great strides underground in the kitchen, there's no denying that, but, uh, you didn't own this place. The mess is a bit much, but... It could be a lot worse. You can clean this up without needing to buy paint. 

"Whatcha making?"  

"I WAS WATCHING A SEGMENT ON 'SOUL' FOOD SO I WANTED TO GIVE IT A SHOT! IF HUMANS CAN MAKE SOUL FOOD THAN I'M SURE THE GREAT PAPYRUS CAN MAKE FANTASTIC SOUL FOOD!" 

"I don't doubt it. What'd ya try your hand at?" 

"FRIED CHICKEN AND MACARONI AND CHEESE!"  

You're suddenly very glad that you'd bought boneless chicken.  

 

* * *

 

 Frisk goes to bed a little later than usual that night. It's like their irritated with you for some reason. They've been a little clingier than usual for the whole week actually, but whenever you try to get them to tell you what's on their mind they shut down.  

When Frisk starts to lean on your shoulder and fall asleep on the couch, you make them get ready for bed.  

" _I don't want you to read to me tonight,"_ Frisk grumbles when you enter the room they share with Papyrus. The bunk bed from underground is back, so Frisk is peering over the edge at you. " _Not without Paps."_  

"That's fine," you try to push the twinge of hurt away. You did miss them today. "Are you sure you're okay Frisk?" 

" _I'm fine."_ You go to leave, feeling thoroughly dismissed by the nine year old, when they stop you. " _Can you sit with me? Please?"_  

_"_ You expect my butt to fit up there with you?" Even in the dark, you see Frisk smile. "Sure, scooch." 

You make a show of grumbling as you climb up the ladder, still checking that the bed will hold your weight even though you know it will as you go. You lay down next to Frisk and they snuggle up with you. 

Neither of you speak, your fingers playing with their hair. 

" _\----?_ " You give a low hum. " _Do you think that people can actually change?"_  

"Uh," you pause for time. Do you? Your first instinct is a resounding 'no'. People don't change. Do they? "I think they can, but they have to really want to. " 

" _I want to change,"_ they reassure you. " _I do. I don't want to play with time anymore. It's just... I'm worried about Asriel."_  

"Yeah?" When you'd asked Frisk about Asriel before, they'd just shrugged. "Did he talk to you?" 

" _No. Goat mom mentioned that he hasn’t really talked to anyone. He's so quiet all the time. That's not healthy, right?"_  

"No, it's not. BUT," you cut Frisk off, "as far as anyone besides us, Sans, and Grillby know; this has never happened before. There's never been something that comes back from the dead. Maybe he's just not ready yet." 

" _Oh. Maybe."_ They sound so dejected. " _I just want to help him."_  

_"_ I know Frisk. I do too. Just keep trying. If anyone can get him to talk, it'll be you. Just be gentle with him. No cornering him and forcing him to talk." 

" _What do you think I'm going to do? Tie him to a chair and make him talk?"_  

_"_ I wouldn't put it past you." Frisk giggles in your head and the two of you just relax together. 

 

* * *

 

 Twenty minutes later, you're tip-toeing out of their room with your right shoulder tingling with that pins and needles feeling. It's a small miracle that you didn't fall off that ladder.   

“Still no Sans?” You glance around the living room when you walk in. The TV is off, Papyrus is watching you from the couch, and nope, no Sans sprawled out on the loveseat.  

“NO. Er...Sorry, no,” Papyrus fixes his volume when you give him a dirty look. “King Asgore was meeting some humans off the mountain so he can't just do those shortcut things today.”  

“I'm sure he's loving that.”  

Papyrus gives a small snort before he laughs. “Nyeh heh heh! He probably likes it as much as he likes to train. Which as you know is-” 

"Not at all,"" you finish the thought for him. 

"Not at all." Papyrus fidgets for a moment, wringing his hands as he stares off into space.  

"Something wrong Paps?" He opens his mouth and shuts it with a small 'click' once. Twice. Three times. "You know you can talk to me right?" 

"I KNOW THAT." You both wince at his volume. "Er, my bad. I do know that. I just... I need your help, but... If I tell you, you can't tell Sans. I need to be the one _totellhimIjustdon'tknowhow_." 

"I can do that. What? As long as you talk to him about whatever soon, I just won't bring it up. You're family to me too Papy." Papyrus flushes a light mandarin color at your words.  

"Wowie! You're a great sister to have," he says and then it's your turn to blush. "It's about Mettaton." He pauses like he's making sure that this is still okay and you nod. If it's about Mettaton, no wonder he wants to run it by someone else first. "Mettaton and Blooky have been using the internet to share their music. Blooky just wanted to put it out there, but there's a ton of people interested in seeing them perform already!" 

"That's great!" You're so proud of your shy ghost friend that you can't keep it in.  

"It is! So they've been using Shyren's agent to book things and, well, there's already places booked all over the country and they're still getting emails. So starting in a little over a month, they're gonna be going on tour." More hand wringing as he stops to take a breath. Was Papyrus worried about Mettaton forgetting about him? That would explain why he's talking to you, you think. 

Sans had finally buried the hatchet, so to speak, with Mettaton over your attempted (and technically successful) murder. While the two of them had built up a... superficial friendship, that friendship would die a fast and painful death if Mettaton hurt Papyrus. 

"He invited me to come with him." 

Oh boy. That's worse. 

 Sans would literally bury a hatchet in Mettaton for this. 

"I want to go." 

Yup. Dead ghost robot. Death by overprotective older brother. 

"That sounds like fun!" It doesn't take anything for you to be excited for Papyrus. Traveling would be good for him. "So what's the problem?"  

"How do I even ask Sans to let me go? How do I even bring this up? How do I-" 

"Hold up," you hold up a hand to shush the nervous monster. "First off, you're a grown ass man. Secondly, Sans is your brother, not your keeper. You don't need to ask him for permission." 

Papyrus stares at you like you've grown a second head. "I know he's my brother, but he's always protected and guided me. I don't want him to think that he doesn't have a say." 

"So when you tell him, let him voice his concerns. Let him be heard. Actually consider what he says if you want too, but this decision is yours." Now it's like you've grown a few extra heads. Just call you Hydra. "Look, I love your brother. There's a part of me that wants nothing more than to tell you it's a stupid idea and for you to stay here. You and I both know that's what Sans will say, but that's not fair to you. You can't live your life trying to keep Sans or anybody else happy." 

"You need to find out what makes you happy. Find that and chase that." 

Papyrus is quiet for another moment, seemingly growing thoughtful at your mini-rant. At least he's no longer staring at you like you're batshit insane.  

You have to break the silent stare. "So, uh, what do you want to happen if you go?"  

"I want to experience everything the surface has to offer!"  

"That’s not what I meant and you know it. You and Mett looked pretty freaking friendly last week at Tori's..." Papyrus goes neon orange at your teasing and you do a little victory dance.  

"We, uh, we... Erm, we're just friends," he says. He doesn't sound convinced of that himself, you note.  

"Just friends?" You can't help yourself, you have to tease the normally confident Papyrus.  

"Just friends! Friends who, uh, are talking about going on a date soon?" 

"I knew it! Details, Paps! I need details!" 

"He wants to make sure that I can handle the 'lifestyle' or something first... But, yes! He wants to see the surface with me! Me!"  

"Of course he does. Who wouldn't want to see the world with The Great Papyrus?" 

 

* * *

 

 

It's early in the morning when Sans comes home. The extra weight of him sliding into bed wakes you up and you glance at your clock. A neon blue '01:00' stares back at you. 

"Sans?" 

"didn't mean to wake you up." He sounds beat.  

"'ts fine," you roll towards him and toss an arm around him. "Everything alright?" 

"yeah. had meetings in another city about – god, don't even remember. asgore needed me, alph, and undyne there. couldn't shortcut home." His breathing is already deepening.  

"'Night Sans." 

"'night love." He barely gets 'love' out before his breathing slows. You want to hope that things will get easier for everyone soon, but you can't shake the feeling that it's going to get harder before it gets easier. 


	91. Avoiding Lobsters

"SANS! WAKE UP! THE KING IS TRYING TO GET A HOLD OF YOU." 

Sans feels the growl slip out of his throat instinctively, his body not ready to be awake yet. It feels like he just fell asleep for crying out loud. Five more minutes.  

"SANS?" Papyrus raps twice on the door.  

"'m up." Sans sighs, tossing an arm out. Nope, you're not in bed. Why is Asgore trying to get a hold of him – shit. He sees why when he opens his eyes. It's noon. That would explain it. 

He grumbles a bit as he reaches for his phone. Even if this room is clearly not underground (seeing the sunlight trickling in through the blinds instantly improves his mood a bit), he still despises waking up alone. You couldn't lie in bed all day with him, he knows that, but he doesn't have to like that fact.  

Four missed calls from Asgore. Double shit. Never a good thing to have your boss and king call more than once without leaving a voicemail. 

Asgore picks up on the second ring. "Hello?" 

"hey, it's me. what's got your goat so early?" A booming laughing comes through the phone and his mood improves a little more. If Asgore is in a good mood to laugh at such a bad joke than it's not that bad.

"Sadly, business. Undyne needed to escort Alphys down to the CORE a few minutes ago and I have two meetings left. If I get myself killed, Toriel may bring me back just to – er, won't be happy. Could you come up to the mountain?" 

"sure thing. everything alright down there?" 

"From what Alphys passed on, yes. It was just a... power flux? I think that's what she said? But Undyne didn’t want her in the CORE itself on her own." 

"makes sense, that place is dangerous alone. when do you need me?" 

"Thirty minutes from now."  

Sans groans as he hangs up the phone. Guess today will be the day that he tries one of those 'energy drink' things that you keep hidden from Frisk. 

 

* * *

 

"Right in the nick of time as usual Sans," Asgore smiles at him when he steps into the throne room. Sans immediately smells the coffee (coffee, not tea – that's a new one) when he steps into the  "That magic of yours really is something." 

"it is." Sans keeps his tone closed off. He doesn't want to talk about his magic, especially not with Asgore. It's too tempting to unload his anger at being cut off from it still. Too fresh, too raw. "so who's coming up today?" 

"Finalizing our currency exchange. Fun stuff." Asgore's sarcasm is loud and clear. 

"it's progress at least. i'll go see them in." He winks at the tired king before he walks towards where the barrier once was.  

He's glad that he doesn't have to wait in that hall anymore, but this spot gives him the heebie jeebies in its own way. A barrier powerful enough to keep them all trapped underground for centuries and there's **no** residual magic _._ It's like nothing was ever here. How powerful had the humans that made that barrier had to have been?

It's eerie and sets his teeth on edge.  

Thankfully, the humans are right on time. Even better, they have no EXP or LV. So he welcomes them in and sits outside the throne room, just in case Asgore needs him, cracking open the sweet smelling human concoction.

* * *

 

 

Three hours and another meeting later and Sans is pretty sure he's about to shake out his body. Energy drinks are the most amazing things that humans have ever invented. After telescopes of course. And space shuttles. And - 

"Sans? Everything alright?" Asgore discreetly raises an eyebrow as he leads the two humans out of the throne room.  

"fine, just tried an energy drink. haven’t had this much energy since i had to pull an all nighter studying years ago." 

One of the humans (older man maybe? Telling human ages is something he really needs to work on), outright laughs. "Sorry," he chuckles after a second, "those things will get you. I remember my first one. I finished my work and then organized my entire office. The wife wants me to chug one at home now." 

"heh, that'll be the day. guess I'm never having one of these again." Is that why you'd offered him one of these? Yeah, right. Your room was your - 

Our room, he corrects himself. It's not just yours. It's his too now. It's so weird that his room isn't that messy place in Snowdin anymore. 

"can't have myself actually working. might end up working myself down to the marrow."  

Both the humans laugh (one a bit more awkwardly than the other, he'd have to try out more skeleton jokes on other humans to see if it's just weird for them) and Asgore rolls his eyes.  

"Somehow I doubt that you're ever at risk for working yourself that thin. Go home Sans, I'll see our guests out." 

"sure thing boss," he waves as he takes one step into the throne room and the next into your place. Er, his place. "'m back. anyone home?" 

"Hey Sans! We're all here." 

He peeks into the kitchen and spots all three of you, of course. You're writing on a sheet of paper, Frisk and Papyrus crowding you.  

"WELCOME HOME BROTHER. ----'S MAKING A LIST OF STUFF THAT WE NEED. I TRIED TO TELL HER THAT WE WOULD GO." 

"Nope. You end up coming home with weird shi- uh,  I mean stuff that I don't know how to cook." 

"BUT WE COULD LEARN TOGETHER." 

"Paps, you brought home three live lobsters." 

" _We could have kept them as pets."_  

You look helplessly over at him. He thinks about having mercy on you. "i'm with the kid. they'd have made cool pets. they had weird little feathers like some kind of underwater bird." 

The disgruntled look on your face makes him laugh so hard his ribs might hurt tomorrow.  

"I'm going to the store by myself now and I'm looking forward to it. That's how much the three of you disgust me right now." 

Sans doesn't miss Frisk's triumphant smile.He doesn’t like you going alone but - 

"DON'T BE SILLY. I'LL GO WITH YOU! YOU CAN SHOW ME WHAT YOU USUALLY GET THAT WAY." 

Why Papyrus? Why? He thought the two of them had an agreement – lay low. Don't bring more attention to you and Frisk, at least for now. They'd talked about it the night that he had asked Papyrus about moving in. Hell, it'd even been Papyrus that had brought it up. 

Apparently a week and two successful trips to the store just the two of them were all it took to convince his brother that it wasn't a bad idea.  

"hey, why don't we all go? i could use some more ketchup." 

"Ugh, alone time ruined. Fine. Although didn't you go to the store to get ketchup already this week?" You sound annoyed, but he sees the smile on your face.  

"i got a small one. there's so many kinds to sample up here." It was the perfect excuse to go out. He could just grab a couple of larger containers, but he needed a reason to go to out. A reason to see how humanity acted around him and Papyrus.  

 

* * *

 

 

"Sans, relax. It's going to be fine. We've been here three days this week already and no one has said anything," Papyrus practically hisses at him as they follow behind you and Frisk.  

"paps, we're two skeletons. of course no one said anything to _us_."  

" _C'mon slowpokes! Keep up!"_  

"I AM NOT SLOW!" Frisk blows a raspberry at Papyrus, before darting in front of you.  

" _Coulda_ _fooled me!"_  

"SANS, ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE THIS GARBAGE TALKING?" 

"it's trash talking bro." 

"SEMANTICS," Papyrus scoffs. "ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE IT?" 

"yep. all that running around is for you young bones. me and ---- aren't that fast." 

"You calling me old, bone head?" Sans flinches at your wording until you elbow him. Your glare slips after that, a giggle slipping out. "Just kidding, jeeze. Although lets not run around the store today. In and out, Frisk. In and out. Got it?" 

" _Got it. Can we get a new video game?"_  

"You got one like two weeks ago." You ruffle their head as you grab a cart. 

" _One that we all can play?"_  

"How about a new board game?" 

" _Deal! I'll go pick one!_ _"_ Frisk flounces off as soon as you shoot them a thumbs up, a kid on a mission. 

The first thing Sans notices as soon as they walk in is that it's busier than he's seen. The second is the instant feeling of eyes on him. He's already used to the staring (he even kind of gets it, really he does – this is all new and weird), but it's odd being in the fray with you. 

You either don't notice the staring or are choosing to ignore it, acting like it's a normal trip to the supermarket for you. You just roll your eyes and follow Frisk, letting Papyrus take over the cart.  

"See Sans? Not so bad." 

Is it pessimistic to add a yet? Yes.

Is he going to add a yet? Also yes.  

"not yet." 

"Brother, why are you such a downer all the time? Everything is going well for us, why not be hopeful?" 

Why not be hopeful? Sans almost chokes on the bitter laughter that he barely manages to hold in. Why not be hopeful? 

Every time he's been hopeful in the past, something has gone wrong. He's choosing to trust Frisk this time around, to trust that everything has been Chara's doing, but... You mentioning Gaster has messed with him. What if it's not over? What if he wakes up back in Snowdin again?  

It's hard to be hopeful when you're just waiting for the killing blow. 

"i... it just feels too easy paps." 

Before Papyrus can say anything, you and Frisk come within earshot. He doesn't want to have this conversation in front of Frisk. Luckily, Papyrus is on the same page.

"Sans?" Your voice is low as you match your stride to his. "You okay?" 

"yeah," he smiles at you, "it's just a lot." 

"It'll get easier," you say as you smile back, "this place is always overwhelming though." You grab his elbow and rush him forward as soon as Papyrus and Frisk choose the snack isle. "C'mon before we end up putting back a cart full of snacks." 

"Disgusting. Did you see that? That woman and her child hanging out with those things." Sans almost freezes in place. The words aren't loud enough for you to hear, but he hears them loud and clear.

"Vile," another person says. "She even let it touch her!" 

It? Anger bubbles in him at that. He's not an 'it', dammit. He's a monster. He's not human, but he's still a person.  

"Sans, you coming?"  

"yeah, just admiring the view. keep going, i have a few more spots i need to _assess_." He winks at you, chuckling when you roll your eyes and spin back around. There, he thinks as he shoves his hands in his pockets, you won't think anything is wrong now.  He's just walking behind you, checking you out. Your ass does look phenomenal in those jeans, he notes. It's not a bad view.  

Now's not the time for that. Instead he focuses in on listening to everyone else. Later, he'll wish he wouldn't have. 

"So gross." 

"What a whore." 

"What kind of woman associates with those things?" 

"Poor kid doesn't stand a chance." 

By the end of the trip, he's on edge. He just wants to be home already. He wants to not feel so many pairs of eyes on him. He wants to hang out with Frisk and touch you without feeling dirty. Not that he has any reason to feel dirty, but for some reason he feels unclean.  

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Sorry for the long hiatus. I ~~explain myself~~ make excuses on my [Tumblr](http://meg-rae29.tumblr.com/) if you want to know where I've been.
> 
> I'm aiming for posting FS chapters on Mondays and Thursdays, with Incidental Music chapters going up on Saturday (if there's going to be one).


	92. Bad Laughs, Good Food

The first thing you do when you get home, after making sure that groceries are put away like the responsible adult that you pretend to be, is jump in the shower. The tension radiating from between you shoulder blades is almost painful. You can still feel everyone's eyes on you, following your movements as you do something as innocent as shopping. 

You're still on edge, wound tight from the staring. You have no idea if Frisk noticed anyone watching them (if they had, they sure hadn't let on), Papyrus had looked slightly uncomfortable by the end, but Sans? Sans looked as put off by the whole thing as you felt.  

You would pretend that you believe his half-assed pun (ha, you can do puns too) about checking you out until he actually wanted to talk about it. Pressuring Sans to open up wasn't something you wanted to do. He'll come to you when he's ready to talk. So instead, you'll just stand here and waste all the hot water. 

"babe?" There's a gentle tap against the door to your bathroom. Not a hand – his forehead maybe? "can i come in?" 

"Yeah." The door doesn’t even open, you just feel him shortcut through the door. Too lazy to open a door, seriously Sans? "Care to join?"  

"err... sure, why not?" There's the sound of Sans stripping before you feel the shower curtain move. 

Sans looks tired again, you notice. Like the weight of the world rests on his shoulders.  

"Not too bad for our first trip out, huh?" Sans makes a noncommittal noise and you make sure he sees you roll your eyes. His tendency to focus on the bad was keeping him from seeing the good. No one had approached you guys. No one had thrown anything. No one had tried to corner the four of you. No yelling of any sorts. 

It could have been so much worse. 

 "Small victories, Sans. So are you actually showering or did you just want to see me naked?" 

"why can't it be both?" Sans smiles and it finally meets his eyes. Small victories. "so i tried one of those energy drink things today. holy shit. i think i get why you hide them in the room." 

"Oh thank god. I thought Papyrus or Frisk may had found them. Did it work?" 

"i didn't think i could have that much energy. what the hell are in those things?" 

"I dunno, you're the scientist," you tease as you start to wash your hair as Sans watches. He likes to watch you just be human, you've noticed. Be it getting dressed, putting on makeup, brushing your hair, reading... So you put on a show. "Sans the skeletal scientist. Sans the science skeleton. Sans the -" 

"sans the magnificent and punderful." 

"Is that going to be your stage name when you start doing stand up up here? If so, you need to brainstorm some new options." 

"ouch. who says that wasn't my stage name underground?"

"It wasn't. Want me to get your spine and the back of your ribs?" You go for the blatant subject change and he smirks. 

"what, no foreplay?"

"Sans."

"'m down. lets find out if we can get dirty in the shower."

"Sans."

Sans laughs at the exasperation that creeps into your voice. "relax, i'm kidding. i seem to remember someone being too loud to do this with anyone else home."  
  


"Shut up."

 

* * *

 

 

Dinner that next night is at Tori's again. Since you've been allowed to see everyone again, you've been going nonstop. Between Frisk, work, and now friends – you've been a busy bee. You wouldn't have it any other way, really you wouldn't, but you wouldn't say no to a lazy day (or just a laxy evening) on the couch either.  

Today isn't that day.  

You'd worked a full day, Sans was working,  Papyrus was doing whatever Papyrus does on the mountain, and Frisk is enjoying their brief summer vacation before having to restart summer school again. Which means that your car ride home had been your only respite before Frisk had met you at the door, ready to go to Mt. Ebott.  

You'd had to shove them out of your room so you could change. You _had_ to come up with some sort of outlet for their energy. If not for them, than for your own sanity. Okay, so you were lying to yourself – you needed a break.   

Tori didn't need a break. She's practically floating when you lay eyes on her, a lopsided grin on her face.  

"----! Frisk! I just got the best news!" She's practically singing. Your mood lifts – she's contagious. "Guess who got approved to build a school? And is getting certified to teach?" 

"Holy shi-shiznit T, that's amazing," you correct your language at her expression before you even finish the word. 

" _When do you start? Can I go to your school? Where is it going to be? Can I pick the name?_ " Frisk is lucky that they're telepathic – there's no way they could have gotten all those questions out vocally without breathing.  

"Why don’t I tell you once Sans joins us, hmm? That way you don't have to listen to this silly old woman prattle on and on about it." 

" _I don't think you're a silly old woman_ _goat mom."_  

"'Cause she's not a silly old woman. Now, what can we help with?"  

You manage to hold in your giggles at Frisk's facial expression when you volunteer them to help. You lose the battle to contain them when Tori actually gives them work to do.  

" _Voluntelling people to do things is mean."_ You stick out your tongue in their general direction at their private whisper. Realizing that you aren't going to let them off, they switch tactics. " _Is Asriel here?"_  

"Frisk-" 

"Yes, let me go grab him. He should be helping us here as well!" Tori talks over you starting to scold Frisk and is gone before you can do anything. 

"Now who’s rude?" You can't actually muster up the effort to be annoyed with Frisk. It was a brilliant tactic – get the other kid downstairs so that their job could be hanging out with them.  

" _Asriel. He should have to listen to this with us._ _He should be a part of his family."_  

"He should be," you say, gently pulling their hair. "Remember what we talked about though? Being patient with him?" 

" _Yes, but,"_ Frisk cuts their own thought off with a dramatic sigh. No more Mettaton movies for them for a while. " _I just don't get it. We're all getting to move on. He's getting a second chance and he's wasting it._ _"_  

_"_ Don't forget he died over four hundred years ago and was brought back. He lost his sibling not once, but twice. He remembers everything that happened. That's too much for anyone to handle." Let alone a kid.  

" _You're right."_  

"I love it when you say things like that. Now, what did Tori need you to do again? Get to work, string bean!"  

" _You're the worst, ----,"_ they say. You don't believe them at all. 

 

* * *

 

 

"Dinners over here have to stop. Seriously, Frisk will need to roll me home at this rate." Sans and Tori laugh as you sprawl out across the floor of her makeshift home. The roughly made building has no carpet and the rug on the floor isn't that comfortable, but it's homely so it doesn't bother you at all. You're stuffed so full that it almost hurts. "Tori, does your magic involve making it impossible to put down a fork?" 

"Possibly," she winks. "If you're worried about it, I won't send home leftovers with you." 

"Nooooo. I didn’t mean it! Omph!" Frisk plops down on the ground next to you, headbutting you right in the food baby.  

"aw, don't don't be like that old lady. don't _pun_ -ish my brother just because my mate thinks she has no self control." Oh god. No.  

You and the two kids groan. Tori's smile grows demonic as her and Sans share a glance. Yeah, the flood gates have opened. 

"I wouldn't dream of it." 

"you sure, dreemur? it's in your name." 

"Of course I wouldn't starve Papyrus! He's already thin, I wouldn't want to work him down to his _marrow_."  

"Mom, that was bad." It takes a second for you to place that it's Asriel's voice that you're hearing. It's one of the longest sentences Asriel has said around you since your first night back on the surface. "Really bad."

"well prince fluffybuns, _lettuce_ see what you can do." Tori snorts into her hands.  

" _Don't do it_ _Az_." 

"It's a trap. Be better than them," you add. 

Asriel flushes red at all the attention on him. The regret he feels for speaking up is written all over his face. "Knock knock," he finally says. 

"who’s there?" 

"Broken pencil." 

"Broken pencil who?" The beginnings of pride are showing on Tori's face. 

"Never mind, it's pointless." Asriel goes bright red as everyone (including you) smiles and giggles. It wasn't that funny, but it was a small crack in his armor. There's a kid in there somewhere after all.  

"not bad-" 

"Oh no," you cut Sans off, "you're one of them now. Traitor. I hope you're happy with yourself." Asriel looks ready to cry until you wink. "They'll never leave you alone now. Watch out for the skeleton – he likes practical jokes."  

" _More like impractical jokes."_ Sans gives a playful scowl as everyone laughs at Frisk's joke. " _Sans has more jokey toys than anyone has any business having."_  

"heh, watch it. i know where you sleep. it'd be a shame if someone put a bunch of whoopie cushions under your mattress or glitter in your desk fan." 

" _M- ---- will kill you if you do that,"_ Frisk trips over a thought.  

"no she won't. she likes me." 

"That's what you think." Sans sounds way too smug for you to let that threat fly. "Don't look at me like that. Glitter is a pain to clean up." 

"You guys are weird," Asriel says, interrupting whatever Sans was about to retort with.  

"We are, but we're family. Tori's family too, which means that you're apart of our little gang of weirdos." It feels strange to try and include a person that has inflicted so much harm to you and everyone you love. Hopefully he proves to be truly changed. 

"Really?"  

" _Really!"_ You nod enthusiastically along with Frisk. Asriel looks like he can't believe what's going on. His eyes flick between the four of you before settling on Sans. 

"really," Sans says.  

Asriel's gives you all a watery grin. "Family." 

 

* * *

 

Frisk, like Sans, can fall asleep any where. You had gone to brew some tea for everyone (the least you could do after Tori made dinner), leaving everyone sitting together, and had come back to Asriel almost asleep in Tori's arms and Frisk asleep in Sans' lap. 

"We should go," you murmur at the sight.  

"ok, i'm gonna be a bit longer. paps just asked me to come talk to him before i leave, guess he's staying the night with undyne. i'll carry frisk to the car for ya." 

"Want me to wait?" 

"nah, it's papy. if he's feeling chatty i might be here until next year." 

The two of you say your goodbyes, Sans with a bit more difficulty than you since Frisk was wrapped around him like some sort of sloth, and head out.  

"grab my elbow," he whispers as you walk out the door. When you do, the ground drops beneath your feet for a second before you re-appear next to your car. The two of you work to get Frisk into the car without waking them up. Somehow, you manage to untangle them from Sans and get them into the car without waking them up. 

Frisk really can sleep like the dead. 

"Try to come home before next year."  

"i'll try, but that’s up to my bro." 

You don't see the text saying that Papyrus was going to tell Sans about traveling with Mettaton until you're already home. Shit.  

It's going to be a long night. 


	93. Older Brother Syndrome

Your phone's low chime is the only warning you get before Sans shortcuts directly into your shared room.  

"so." Sans' tone is lethal. If it wasn't for the fact that you could feel him coming and going through the void, he would have scared the hell out of you.  

"Hey, what's wrong?" You play dumb, motioning to the other person in your bed. Frisk hadn't woken up when you got home so instead of messing with them, you'd just put them in the middle of your bed and hoped for the best.  

Based on Sans' tone those hopes were getting you nowhere. 

 "papyrus is going to travel the world with mett," Sans says, his voice low and sending tingles of fear down your spine. You have a flash of the judgement hall again - 'you dirty brother killer'- that makes you recoil a bit.  

"Oh." What else can you say to that? Protective Older Brother mode is in full swing. There's nothing else you can say.  

"yeah, 'oh'. care to explain why some of the things he said sounded like your words coming out of his mouth?" 

"He talked to me the other day." Sans' sockets narrow a bit, but he does come to sit next to you on the bed. "I didn't want to keep it from you, but he asked me to. I just can't imagine lying to him." Suddenly those just sound like feeble excuses.

Sans' face finally relaxes, his glare slipping away. "it does kind of feel like you'd be kicking a puppy if you let him down, huh?"  

"More like kicking a puppy, kitten, and baby duck all in a row." 

 Sans chuckles quietly as he tucks a strand of hair behind Frisk's ear. "i certainly feel like a _quack_ right now. never realized how smothering he thought i was." 

"He doesn't think that." Or if he did, he liked it most of the time. 

"when gaster was still around, i was always protecting him. i never wanted him to peak g's interest, ya know? then when he died, i kept protecting him. or at least i thought i was." Sans soft laugh shifts to a humorless one. "never realized that he was helping me keep it together." 

"I think the two of you needed each other. Paps probably needed you just as much as you needed him." 

"maybe."  

"What are you so worried about?" 

Sans' eyes flash back to Frisk, probably checking to make sure they're still asleep, before his voice drops to an even lighter whisper. "everything. if it's all over, really over, than if something happens to him... i lose him. forever. he's so _good_ , what if something happens to him?" 

"He's a grown man and it's his life-" 

"not helping," he interrupts, "not even a little bit." 

"-Let him live it," you ignore Sans. "It's over. Time is only going forward from here on out. He should be able to explore the world. Come to think of it, you should too." 

"how can you know that? gaster mentioned other timelines, right?" 

"He didn't control time. Chara did." You chew on your lip, thinking for a second. You didn't want to talk about Chara, not really, but... Sans needs to hear it. "Chara's gone. I felt them die." 

"you felt that?" His eyes widen.  

"Yeah." You hesitate again. Remembering Chara's control over your body makes you feel sick. Ashamed. You want to leave it there and never mention this again, but you can't.  

Get it all out and maybe you'll never have to relive it again. 

"Before Chara took over, I'd been having dreams with them for months. I told you about that, remember? Since the last reset. I don't remember what caused them to start, but I didn't have fucked up dreams with them in it in the first timeline that I fell. When you gave them back their SOUL and it merged with mine... I remembered all of the dreams at once. Some of their memories too." 

Running up the mountain from a man, 'falling' into the ground, wishing for death...  

"Even though they yanked their SOUL back out of mine, I felt them fade away. I went from not knowing they were there, to being so aware of them, to being empty in less than a day." 

"interesting," Sans says and for some reason the word makes you uneasy. "it almost sounds like chara bonded with you. i don't think that's possible, but..." He trails off. Could it be possible?

"Apparently my SOUL is all about bonding with everyone except the one person I want to share it with." Sans' face dusts a pretty blue color at your half-joke.  

"oh yeah?" Sans hand presses between your breasts and your breath hitches. Suddenly him touching your SOUL is all you want in the world. "not the right time to bond with you since we have some company, but... may i?" 

No, not with Frisk in bed with the two you. Or that's what you were going to say before you look in his eyes. This isn't sexual tonight. This is for reassurance. Reassurance that Chara's gone, that you're here, that you love him, and that he's here. You gulp. 

"Yes." 

Again, your SOUL doesn't hesitate when he tugs for it. It flies out and - 

No.  

You see Sans' jaw drop a bit, but you feel yours drop again. You'd been hoping that your SOUL was the same at least. Maybe even healed since Chara was gone. 

Not even close. 

There's even more tar from the void in it now. The 'break' in the middle is thicker and now there's some swirling in your SOUL with the rest of the colors. 

 Why? 

"i... i don't know." You didn't realize you'd actually said anything out loud. "----, it's gonna be ok. really." You didn't realize that you'd started crying either. 

Broken. Why were you broken? You weren't perfect, but you didn't deserve this either. You tried to be a good person. 

"you're not broken." Sans gently pushes Frisk and they roll onto his side of the bed. Jeeze, they sleep like the dead. They don't even move when Sans settles between them and you, your SOUL back in your chest. "we'll figure it out." 

You feel even worse when Sans pulls you into his chest – he can't even be annoyed at you without something going wrong. Of course this makes you cry even harder. He just pets your head and mumbles reassurances. 

Once your sobs go back to sniffles, you try and talk. "S-sorry." 

"don't be, i needed a shower anyway." 

"I m-mean it. You c-can't even b-be mad at me w-without some stupid d-drama happening."  

"so did i. 'm not mad at you. not really." You pull yourself out of his ribs to give him your best 'yeah, right' look and he just wipes your leftover tears away with his thumb. "i'm serious. just keep thinking about the fact that i have to tell paps the truth sooner than i was planning on." 

"You're g-going to tell him about everything?" You give another sniffle, thankful that you're already feeling calmer. 

"yeah. i want to tell him before he leaves, i think. not the night before or anything, but i bet he'll want some space when i tell him." 

"You think so?"  

"yeah. just got to think of how now. well, not now. that's a problem for a sans that's had some sleep." 

"Oh shit, I'm sorry." 

"stop apologizing. it's fine." Sans headbutts you softly, the light 'thunk' playful. "so why do we have a munchkin in bed with us again?" 

"I don't have the magic to put them in the top bunk without waking them up." 

"fair enough." 

"…And I still have nightmares sometimes," you admit. "Not violent ones, but I don’t like waking up alone in the middle of the night. I didn't know if you'd come home after everything..." 

"hey, look at me." Sans nudges your chin back up with his hand, forcing you to look him in the eye. "i promise i'll never not come home just because i'm mad at you. ever. if one of us is ever out of town without the other, i'll at least call." 

Adoration bursts in your chest. "I love you." 

"love you too. now get some sleep." He presses a toothy kiss to your forehead. 

"Will you be here in the morning?" You wince at how insecure you sound, but thankfully Sans just grins.  

"yep." 

As you nod off, warm in secure in Sans' arms, you hear laughter in your head. 

 

* * *

 

 

" _Sans!"_  

"you're not making this any easier kiddo." 

" _You're the one that fell asleep with their phone in their pocket."_  

"and you're asleep in _my_ bed."  

You grumble loudly, opening your eyes to see Frisk tangled in Sans' limbs. Sans looks aggravated, clearly reaching for his pants pocket (now you hear the low buzz of his phone vibrating) with Frisk's hand in-between his radius and ulna.  

You snort (when you see that Frisk's other hand is wrapped around a rib you laugh in earnest) and Sans gives you a pleading look. It's quite the sight to wake up too. "Frisk, unhand Sans." 

Frisk grumbles and lets go, Sans instantly shortcutting out of the room as soon as they let go. You hear a loud thud and a swear before a "hello?" 

"Sleep well?" 

"Yeah," Frisk yawns. "How is D- Sans so comfy?"  

"Magic," you say as you wiggle your fingers. 

"Did I fall asleep at Goat Mom's house?" 

"You don't remember? Yeah. You were wrapped around Sans like some sort of koala." 

Frisk blushes, but before they can retort Sans is back in the room. "shit!" 

" _You know, if the two of you made a swear jar as a college fund for me I'd be set."_  

"Hush, you. What's wrong?" 

"interview." 

"Really? Already? Didn't you just start applying to human places?" 

"yeah, but i guess there's tax benefits or whatever for hiring monsters," Sans calls out from the closet. "gotta love money. fuck, where's my- babe, can i borrow some pants?" 

"Knock yourself out. You can borrow my heels too if you want." Frisk giggles and you shoot them a grin. 

"eh, i would, but they're bad for the joints." In less than a minute, Sans waltzs out in a dark green dress shirt that you assume is his and some black slacks of yours. "sorry, i must have thrown mine out ages ago and forgot." 

" _I didn't think you owned anything nice to start with."_  

"rude." Sans sticks out his tongue at Frisk. "i'll remember this when you want to borrow my stuff in a few years." 

Frisk's smile grows wicked. " _So only for like another three years. Then I'll be taller than you!"_  

Sans lets out a genuine laugh. "you better hope so. now be good, kid." 

Sans ruffles both Frisk's hair and yours, stopping to give you a kiss. 

"Ick! Gross!" 

Deviousness radiates from Sans as he winks at you. "can you...?" You hear the rest of his unspoken question and pin Frisk for him. Frisk laughs and shrieks as Sans presses toothy kisses all over Frisk's cheeks and forehead. 

Before Frisk can retaliate, he's gone. 


	94. Moving On

"I AM SO SORRY! I SHOULD HAVE GAVE YOU MORE WARNING!" You're barely out of the car before Papyrus springs towards you, visibly distraught. Frisk had wanted to come up to the mountain today and with no work and no Sans, well, it's not like you had anything better to do. Letting Frisk run around with monsters sounded better in your head than keeping an energetic nine year old cooped up in the house.  

"Papyrus-" Not in front of Frisk.  

" _What's wrong?"_ Too late. 

"I DON'T KNOW WHY I THOUGHT HE WOULD STICK AROUND AND _TALK_ TO ME, HE NEVER DOES... I JUST WAS EXPECTING HIM TO SAY MORE THAN HE DID!" 

" _What happened? Did you guys fight last night?"_  

"Everything is fine you two," you growl out. Great, now Frisk would pick up on the fact that Sans was still worrying about them resetting. "Really. Just do me a favor and don't ask me to keep things from Sans for more than a day, alright? I had to promise that I'd laugh at every single crappy bone pun he does for a week. " Papyrus looks aghast. 

"I WON'T! I PROMISE!" Papyrus pulls you into a half-hug, the other half going to Frisk. "FRISK, I'M SORRY THAT I ABANDONED YOU AND OUR NIGHTLY BATTLE PLAN!" 

Battle plan? " _S'ok."_  

"UGH, IT'S NOT 'OKAY'. ONE NIGHT AWAY AND YOU ALREADY ARE SPEAKING MORE LIKE SANS!" Paprus lets out a small huff before he nudges you both towards the forming town. "I WILL NEED TO FIX THAT BEFORE I LEAVE!" 

"So you have a date now? Also wait - 'battle plans'?"  

"YES! WE LEAVE IN TWO WEEKS!"  

" _You're leaving?"_ Your excitement for Papyrus curbs a bit at Frisk's sad sounding question. It seems like it effects Papyrus too since he almost stumbles into a slower pace.  

"ER. YES. FEAR NOT, I'LL ONLY BE GONE FOR A FEW WEEKS!" Papyrus goes on to explain his trip to the two of you in more detail when your phone buzzes.  

**Sans: guess who starts working next week?**

**Sans: give you a hint – me**

**Sans: gotta love incentives**

**You: That's awesome! What are you going to be doing?**

No answer.  

"----?" You snap your attention back to Papyrus, shoving your phone back in your pocket. "IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT?" 

"Yeah, Sans just had an interview this morning. Apparently he got the job."  

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. MY BROTHER, WILLINGLY GETTING ANOTHER JOB." 

"Me neither. Now back to these 'battle plans'?"  

Frisk and Papyrus share a guilty glance before running off ahead of you. 

 

* * *

 

"Your brother and Frisk are plotting something," you say to Sans once the other two had gone to bed. 

"oh?" Sans doesn't sound worried, just pulling you closer on the couch. He's quiet tonight, both of you seemingly content to just be near the other.  

"Papyrus calls them 'battle plans'." 

"oh jesus." You nudge Sans in the ribs when he goes back to the tv. "you seriously worried? really? babe, my brother has been planning wars with his action figures for years.  _w_ _ars_." 

"Your brother, the pacifist, planning wars? That sounds like a story."  

"one of your vampire movies fell a few years back. he's been worried about vampires and werewolves ever since. you should have heard the lecture that ice wolf gave him when we were younger." 

"Sounds like you heard it too." You smirk when Sans face flushes a light blue. Yep.  

"well, i wouldn't have been a good big brother if i didn't encourage his hobbies." An easy silence stretches out between the two of you again. This is what you've wanted for the past few... days? No, weeks. You want to know where he's going to be working, but... It can wait. For now you're content to be curled into his side, his fingers running through your hair.  

If you could purr, you would. 

"do you have any siblings?" You pull back just a bit, surprised at the question. "you never talk about your family. just curious." 

"Only child," you say before pause for a second. God, you haven't given your family more than a fleeting thought in what feels like ages. "They took my ex's side when we split.  Didn't care that I was being – you know what, let's not go there. Long story short instead of being able to turn back to them while I was down, I had to move out on my own and change my number." 

 Sans' eyes are on you now, the show forgotten. "holy hell." You ignore his staring and just burrow back into his side. "do they even know you're alive?" 

"I don't even think they know I went missing." Sans' grip on you tightens. "It sucks, but some people just suck. They were just so obsessed with everything looking picture perfect that the fallout didn't matter."  

"their loss." Sans says it with the same confidence that you usually only hear from Papyrus. Like it's a fact. 

There's nothing you can say to that. Nothing that he'd like anyway. Making peace with the fact that you were a statistic had been one thing, but with cutting off both your parents? That wasn't as easy.  

"no wonder you’re my soulmate, you meet all of the things i want in a partner. you're kind, have a sense of humor, have fucked up parents, like my brother, don't mind the gross habits..." He trails off and you laugh.  

"That's all it takes? Wait, gross habits? Plural? I only agreed to deal with the ketchup drinking. What else is there?"  

"the sock collection."  

"It's not gross as long as the socks are clean. They are clean, right?" Sans just gives you a playful grin. "Aw, c'mon. Don't tell me that they've all be worn. Or worse."  

The bastard just winks, his smile mysterious. "so 'm gonna be a working in the kitchen at a pizza joint."  

"Really? Look at you, you big cheese."  

"cheese puns about pizza? talk about the low hanging fruit." You groan and his smile grows, "c'mon, you know you love my puns, no matter how _cheesy_ they are." 

"Low hanging fruit, hmm?" 

"it's a slice of life." 

"That one was a stretch." 

"they can't all be winners." Sans rests his head on yours again. 

"So seriously. The socks...?" 

"relax, they're clean. do you think i would have lived to meet you if they were all dirty?"  Fair point. If anything could drive Papyrus to violence, it would be that.  

 

* * *

 

If you thought you never really saw Sans before, his second job damn near made him a ghost. Actually scratch that, you saw Napstablook more than you did Sans these days.  

“ _Open your door woman! I'm here and my hands are full_ _!”_  

You snort, opening your front door for your best friend. Both of his hands are full of the reusable bags (How weren't they on fire? His self control had to have limits, right?) presumably filled with food.  “’Ello Grillby. Sorry, wasn’t expecting you for another few minutes." 

" _Obviously,"_  he snarks and you flush as you point him toward the kitchen. You'd just gotten home from work – you hadn't even had time to change yet. You look nice and greasy after running around the restaurant all morning being the bartender and helping serve tables after a no-call.  

"How much do you think we're going to eat?" 

" _All of it. I haven't had access to a real kitchen since we've been on the surface."_ You giggle as he makes a show of cracking his knuckles and stretching out his shoulders. " _I need to make sure I've still got it."_  

"Well, we're all willing victims." This time it's Grillby that flushes, a small blue tint appearing in his cheeks. "Want some wine or beer while you work? Or some help?"  

" _Just some company for now. Although if you want to go change, go ahead. I'll start prepping."_ You halfheartedly protest as he doesn't know his way around your kitchen as he pushes you out. _"----,_ _I'm way ahead of you on the wine,_ _"_ he says as he pulls a bottle out of one of the bags.  

 

* * *

 

Fifteen glorious minutes later and you're perched on the counter, glass in hand, as Grillby puts on a show. It's kind of weird being told to 'stay the fuck out of his way' in your place, but the look he gives you tells you not to argue. 

" _Sans? Our Sans? Working with food?"_ Grillby's incredulous tone isn't lost on you. " _I'll believe that when I see it."_  

 _"_ Tell me about it. I wish he would have taken some time to find something that fits him better, you know? But I'll support him." 

" _He's so stubborn. I don't get him. Once things calm down, he could easily put that scientist background to use and only work one job. Instead he insists on working multiple ones that don't pay well."_  

You shrug your shoulders. "Gaster." 

" _I get that, I do. I'm all for holding a grudge, but damn. Do it productively. Don’t make things harder for yourself on principle."_  

 _"_ You tell him that then." Grillby laughs at that. "Seriously. You've known him longer. He respects and listens to you." 

" _Nope. Not getting involved. Not_ _with Papyrus leaving soon – I don't want to be the monster that pokes the jokester on a bad day. Especially since I have a feeling he's a bit low on sleep._ _"_  

 _"_ That's my biggest concern honestly," you say before you take a sip of the wine. Grillby is lazily chopping some sort of fruit or vegetable that you've never seen with finesse. He glances over at you, not stopping his chopping. He doesn't even pause. "Fucking hell Grillbz watch your damn hands!" 

He snickers, stopping to drink his wine for a moment and watching you.  

"It's only been a week and I've barely seen him. He works late at night and is gone by nine the next morning. No one can do that for long." 

" _He'll try,"_  he says as he picks the knife back up. 

"I know. That's what scares me." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's late! Next chapter should be up Thursday still. I hope everyone had an awesome Halloween!


	95. Cooking with Fire

Dinner simmers on the stove and the aroma pouring out of the pot makes your mouth water. Dear god, that fireman could perform miracles in a kitchen. The scent had even pulled Papyrus and Frisk out of their room to investigate (which was a feat considering you knew that Frisk and Paps were obsessively putting together an itinerary for Paps' trip) and kept them in the living room.  

" _Star_ _ing_ _doesn’t make it cook faster."_  

Your attention snaps back to Grillby who's watching you with a bemused look from the other side of the counter. "I know that. I'm just taking in the smell. But, um, how long till it's done again?" 

" _About an hour, but the longer it sits the better it'll be."_ You frown across the space between the two of you, grumbling about starving to death. " _Stop being so melodramatic."_  

"Ugh, fine. Refill?" You reach for his glass before the question is even out of your mouth. Grillby pretends to look thoughtfully at the bottom of his empty wine glass. 

" _If you insist."_ He heaves a fake sigh before handing you his glass. " _Thanks."_  

_"_ Don't thank me, I'm just feeding you your own wine. You're going to need it," you lower your voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "if you're going to actually teach Papyrus his way around a kitchen." 

" _Don't remind me. Are all the stories from Sans true?"_  

_"_ Probably. You could throw Alphys a bone and teach Undyne too." 

" _Did you just...?"_ Grillby snatches his refilled glass from you and downs part of it in one gulp. " _Bone jokes? That's it, I'm holding an intervention."_  

"Oh god, please do. I didn't even notice!" You groan. Sans was rubbing off on you. Sure, you've started to like to make bone related jokes to Sans, but when had you gotten this bad? "Don't tell Sans, I'll never hear the end of how proud of me he is." 

Grillby pretends to think on it (or at least you hope it's pretending), thoughtfully stroking his face. " _I don't want to hear him that smug so_ _why not? That joke is safely buried between us."_  

You gawk for a second as he gives you a very Sans-like wink. "Now who needs an intervention?" 

" _Not me."_  

The two of you stare unblinkingly at each other for a moment, not that Grillby actually needs to blink, before you both burst out laughing. It's so loud that Frisk actually comes to check on you two before walking away slowly.  

" _They're fine Paps. They're just being weird,"_ Frisk says as soon as you start to regain your composure. Which just starts the laughter over again. 

"I think we're broken," you murmur as you wipe tears off your face. "It wasn't even that funny. Don't give me that look. It was funny, but not that funny." Grillby just grabs your glass this time and fills it up along with his. "Hey, you could have asked." 

" _Don't need to. I mean_ _if you don't want it,_ _I'll drink it,"_ he taunts. 

"Hey now, I didn't say that." The two of you giggle like children again. "This is nice." 

" _It is."_ Grillby sighs again, this time tucking some stray hair behind your ear. It's an intimate gesture, but it doesn't feel uncomfortable. " _I never thought I'd see the surface again, let alone have friends to spend time with up here."_  

"Well," you take a few steps back for Grillby's sake. It's not that you don't trust him, the opposite actually, but sometimes you get the feeling that he sees Joan when he looks at you. Not all the time, but... Moments like this you think he's seeing the two of you blended into one. You don't want to contribute in any way to making your friendship weird. "Aren't you glad you were wrong?" 

" _Absolutely."_  

"So what are your plans now?" You don't even try to mask the blatant subject change. "You have to have some idea now." 

" _I want to_ _open Grillby's on the surface."_  

"Really?" Grillby looks downright offended by your shock. "You get back on the surface and that's the first thing on your to-do list? Not snorkeling or something?" 

" _I thought I'd want to do more, but_ _no._ _It was my dream to open a place like it and I did – underground. Now I have the chance to start over on the surface and make it better. It's exciting again."_  

"I doubt you'd start over from scratch. You have regulars that would probably follow you anywhere." 

_"Well, I'm not going far. I'm going to stay in_ _Ebott_ _."_  

"Alright. What else?" You jump back up on the counter, putting your thinking cap on. Grillby cocks his head at you so you elaborate. "So you want to stay in Ebott. Where in Ebott do you want to open shop? It's a big city. Are you going for the same pub feel or something fancier? Different food or-" 

" _\----, breathe."_ Grillby chuckles, placing both his hands on your shoulders. " _I obviously still have a lot of stuff to think about. That's actually why I came over today."_  

_"_ What, my company isn't enough?" You make a show of pouting, sticking your lower lip out.  

" _You know it is. It's still in the planning stages – and by that I mean my head, but how do you feel about going into business together?"_  

"I- What? I have no experience with running a-" 

" _Then just be my second in command once it's open. I don't want to be the only one working there anymore and I need people I can trust to help keep my vision going."_ You feel yourself gawking at Grillby, your mouth opening and closing like a fish. " _You don't need to answer tonight obviously. I'd like your help finding a good part of town either way if you don't mind, but... the offer will always stand if you want it."_  

"I...I'll think about it. I don't know how I feel about being that important in the business, it sounds stressful, but I'll help you find a place to build or rent for sure."  

Grillby's flames give away his happiness at this, as he pulls you into a crushing hug. " _Thank you,"_ he mumbles before he drops you and checks on his concoction. He stirs it and then samples a spoon full, not even waiting for it to cool a bit. That's probably one of the advantages of being made of fire – you can't burn your tongue it's made of magical fire. Wait a second, how did he drink wine then? Or anything?  

You're stopped from asking the probably stupid question by him clearing his throat. "Dinner's ready everyone!" 

 

* * *

 

 

" _Can_ _Grillby_ _move in next?"_ Frisk is practically purring on the floor next to Papyrus. 

"Where would he sleep exactly?"  You glance at Grillby who's sprawled out on the other side of your couch from you while Frisk thinks. "We don't have fireproof anything kiddo. That and I'm not taking in strays." 

"Oi! I'm not a stray," Grillby grouches in his raspy english.  

"YOU AREN'T THINKING OF GIVING UP MY BED, ARE YOU FRISK?"  

" _No?"_  Frisk is an abysmal liar now that time is moving normally again.  

"I'M HURT. I'M ONLY GOING TO BE GONE FOR EIGHT WEEKS AT THE MOST!" Papyrus gives an obnoxiously fake sniffle before throwing an over his eyes. "I SEE HOW IT IS. I CONSIDER YOU MY OWN MARROW AND BONE AND YET YOU JUST TOSS ME ASIDE WHEN SOMEONE COOKS FOR YOU." 

" _No Paps! I didn't mean it!"_  

"Oh? You don't want me here?"  

Frisk whips their head to you and pleads for help with their eyes. "Be nice to the kid guys." 

"YOU THOUGHT I WAS SERIOUS? IT SEEMS THAT YOU WERE THOROUGHLY JAPED BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" You blink and Papyrus is on his feet, grabbing Frisk and spinning them around. "NYEH HEH HEH! 

"Paps, put Frisk down. I'm gonna throw up just watching you two spin like that."  

" _Oh my..."_ The three of you laugh when Papyrus sets Frisk on their feet and they wobble for a second before falling on their butt.  

Family. This is what family is, you think.  

"what'd i miss?" You about jump out of your skin when Sans slinks out of your room. You hadn't even felt him come home! "mmm, thought I smelt some firewood. 'sup grillbz?" 

All of you welcome Sans home, although you're the only one that gets up to give him a kiss ("what no kiss from you, grillbz? 'm hurt."). Up close you see, or rather smell, why you hadn't felt Sans. Someone had popped into the bathroom first to take a shower – a new habit that you welcome from his job in a kitchen. 

Since starting work there last week, he's been going nonstop. This is actually only the third time you'd seen him awake in a week. He doesn't seem unhappy, just busy. He does, you notice, eat dinner like a starved man. 

"you guys hear the news yet?" Sans asks once he's done eating.  

" _Hear what?"_  

"I didn't tell them," Grillby says. "I figured you'd want to." 

"Tell us what?" Is it good? Bad? Sans' face gives no clues. 

"BROTHER. SPILL." 

"spill what? my guts? afraid i don't have any of those." 

"SANS!" 

Sans chuckles at Paps' fake distress for a moment. "we've got money again paps. the exchange rate or whatever has been approved, i kind of zoned out when the humans were explaining it." 

So that's why Grillby had come over to talk about reopening his restaurant.  

"That's awesome guys!" 

"babe, you're getting some too." You stare blankly at Sans while you think. "did you really forget that you got paid for your work underground?" 

"Oh. Oh! Yes?"  

"wow." 

"You and Paps should split it," you start to explain when both Papyrus and Sans narrow their sockets at you. "Really. You guys took care of me and Frisk-" 

"----. WE'RE NOT DOING THIS AGAIN. IT'S YOUR MONEY," Papyrus scolds you with an air of finality.  

"I'll take it." Grillby chuckles when both skeleton monsters glare at him and throws his hands up in surrender. "Relax you two. Joking." 

"THAT WAS EVEN LESS FUNNY THAT SANS' JOKES. YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF." 

"I am. On that note, I need to go. It's getting late."  

"Aw, Grillbz, you don't need to go. I thought it was funny."  

"I know I don't need to, but I should. I've got things to do now that we're truly free. Have fun and stay safe on your trip. Don't let Mettaton get too crazy." 

"THANK YOU! AND I WON'T!"  

"wanna take a shortcut?"  

"Please." Sans hesitates for a second before he grabs Grillby's elbow.  

"babe, wanna come?"  

You recognize that tone. It's not begging, but it's close. He wants you to come. "Sure." 

 

 

 

 


	96. Have a Nice Trip!

Your apartment is a wreck; not that it was ever spotless with two slobs, a kid, and an enthusiastic cooking skeleton living it, but it looks more like a warzone than a living space. The entire place looked like Sans' room back underground; except instead of random objects and garbage, it's clothes, knick knacks, and suitcases. So many suitcases. Where had they all come from? 

 And you had thought Papyrus was a neat freak. 

"WHAT IF I NEED TO FIGHT OFF FANS? METTATON IS TRULY GREAT LIKE ME, SO IT'S A POSSIBILITY RIGHT? IF SO I NEED TO PLAN, SO THESE FIGURES NEED TO COME AND -" You have to gingerly step over a large pile of bones (Why? Just...Why?) to get into the living room. 

"Papyrus, they pay people to do that job. They're called bodyguards." Papyrus keeps pacing, throwing objects in his suitcases like he didn't hear you. He probably didn't. "Papyrus?" 

"WHAT IF WE GO SOMEWHERE TROPICAL?" 

Nope. Not hearing you. He's still looking over the stuff strewn about the living room and mumbling to himself.  How had he brought this much crap up from underground? Where had he put it all? 

" _Papyrus?"_  

"Don't bother. He's in la-la land Frisk." 

"I MIGHT NEED THIS.. AND... HUH? I AM NOT IN 'LA-LA LAND', I JUST NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT I HAVE MOST OF THE STUFF I NEED!"  

"Like shampoo?" You hold up the bottle from one of his suitcases and Frisk makes an outraged sound as they grab for the bottle in your hand.  

"PLEASE FRISK?" 

" _You don't even have hair!"_  

"BUT IT MAKES MY SKULL SMELL NICE!"  

You giggle as Frisk argues with Papyrus over the shampoo. Papyrus may not realize it, but you know Frisk – it's a stalling tactic. Frisk couldn't give two shits about their shampoo. In fact, you know that they've seen the back up bottle under their bathroom sink.  

Papyrus is leaving today and maybe arguing with him will make him stay for longer.  

"what's the – oi, jeeze. paps! we **are** related!" Sans finally makes his appearance. He'd been given the morning off by Asgore, but instead of waking him up like he'd asked... You'd let him sleep in. He'd looked so peaceful when you'd woken up, you just couldn't imagine making him get up. You're sure you'll hear about it later.  

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT SANS? OF COURSE WE'RE RELATED!" 

Sans just snickers. "gotta say paps, your mess puts mine to shame." 

Papyrus glares at Sans for a second, before he switches back to packing. "MINE IS AT LEAST TEMPORARY! BESIDES, YOU'RE MUCH MORE CIVILIZED NOW THAT ---- AND FRISK ARE AROUND." 

"ow. you wound me," Sans says as he wraps an arm around you. The two of you watch the mayhem together for a second before he lowers his voice to talk to you. "thought you were going to wake me up?"  

"I was," you mumble guiltily. "You just looked so peaceful so I was gonna wait another hour or so. I'm sorry."  

"no skin off my nose," he practically purrs as he winks.  

"You don't have a nose so _snot_ a good joke." 

"Ugh, I'm sorry that you can't come Frisk," you hear Papyrus say to Frisk over Sans' guffaw.  

"you sure know how to pick 'em, sweetheart. cause you pick a nose. get it?" 

" _Me too. You sure I can't come Papy?_ _"_  

"What do you know about picking noses, Sans?" 

"I COULD PUT YOU IN A SUITCASE, I GUESS." Frisk takes it a step further and actually tries to climb in a suitcase. They don’t fit.  

 

* * *

 

Mettaton seems surprised by the piles of random stuff all over your place when he walks in. You don't get why – he probably did the exact same thing as soon as he knew this trip was happening. "Papy, you know we're coming home right?"  

"I KNOW THAT. HOWEVER, THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS ALWAYS PREPARED FOR ANYTHING!" You giggle at the earnest look on Papyrus' face as he shows Mettaton his packed outfits – he's certainly prepared for pretty much anything. Snowshoes, swimming trunks, several hats, rain boots – the only thing he isn't prepared for is a potential volcano eruption.  

As Papyrus keeps ranting on to an obviously enamored Mettaton, Sans' grip on your hand tightens. His smile is glued to his face again and he's clearly trying very, very hard to be a supportive brother. "Papyrus," you throw out your best 'please pay attention to me now' voice and thankfully he spins around, "why don't you go pack those suitcases up before you end up taking the kitchen sink with you?" 

"DO YOU THINK I'D NEED IT?" Papyrus winks at you across the room as he grabs a bag. Unfortunately for Mettaton, Frisk helps.  

"look, mett, i don't wanna be that guy-" 

"But I do." Mettaton looks more frightened by you than Sans. "Look here Mettaton. I like you. We're friends, but Papyrus is my brother. I love him. If you hurt him, I'll make sure that you're stuck in that rectangle body for weeks. I'll go to wherever you are at to do it. Got it?"  

"babe," Sans cuts the awe in his voice out before he looks away from you. "well, you heard the lady and my threat was pretty much the same so...be good to my brother and you won't have a bad time, yadda yadda yadda. got it?" 

Mettaton seems to need a second to compute both of your threats against him. Once they register, he gives a low 'hmmph' and his magenta eyes narrow at you both as he crosses his arms across his chest. "You two are perfect for one another – both of you are so violent!" 

Mettaton thinks for a second, before his smile reappears. "You two don't need to threaten me, you know. I care about Papyrus too. I would never do anything to hurt his shine on purpose." 

You and Sans share a glance. That's exactly what you wanted to hear and apparently what Sans needed to hear all in one. 

"take care of him, ok? that shine is more fragile than it looks." 

"Of course I will. I'll bring him home in one piece with fabulous stories to share!" Mettaton isn't talking to you now, his eyes are glued to Sans. Mettaton gets it – he's not asking for permission, but for acceptance. Sans is Papyrus' brother, but he's also more than just a brother. Papyrus was Sans' whole world for ages and Mettaton gets it. "I promise." 

Mettaton clasps Sans on the shoulder and Sans' smile shifts into something genuine until the moment passes. "er, should probably go help my brother. unless you do actually want a sink in that car of yours." Sans gives an awkward little wave before he grabs a random duffel bag and fleeing the scene.  

"He doesn't handle positive emotions well, does he?"  

"Not always," you grin. "Especially not with his little brother's boyfriend. Potential boyfriend?"  

"Friend. At least for now." Before you can ask, Mettaton's mood shifts again. His hands are on his hips now and he's glaring at you. "Although, I don't know if we're friends with how often you threaten me. So rude!" 

"Well, Sans is too tired to effectively threaten you so someone had to. Plus he does like you nowadays, so it's getting harder to threaten to turn you into a giant calculator for him." Mettaton's glare gains a playful glint – he's not actually even remotely annoyed with you. "I'm just being a good girlfriend."  

"Hmph." 

"Aw, you know I wouldn't actually try and hurt you, right? I know from experience how bad hitting you hurts." 

"Serves you right," Mettaton smirks at you. "Hitting people isn't right. First me and then some geriatric old turtle... Who's next?"  

"Most days, no one. Right now? You again." Mettaton just playfully tugs at the ends of your hair. The two of you start to zip up the remaining bags (Frisk changed the old shampoo bottle out with the unopened one at some point. Shifty child.). "Hey Mett, do you have any plans for Paps' birthday?" 

"When's his birthday?"  

"He didn't tell you?" 

"No?" 

Oh hell. Time to win girlfriend AND wing woman of the year. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super short and lame, but here it is!
> 
> So for a future chapter, I'd like some cringe-worthy sex advice that sounds like something you'd read in Cosmo. Bonus points if you actually read it in a magazine.


	97. Taking Care

"NOW ----, I EXPECT YOU TO TAKE GOOD CARE OF SANS! FRISK, YOU NEED TO HELP TOO!" Before Sans can interject, Papyrus keeps going."DON'T ARGUE WITH ME ON THIS SANS! IF SOMEONE DOESN’T KEEP AN EYE ON YOU, YOU'LL LET THE PET ROCK STARVE TO DEATH." 

This is it. 

"seriously paps? you think i'd take our pet for _granite_?" Papyrus shrieks at Sans' pun while everyone else giggles. "that was a good one and you know it!" 

"It w-was!" Alphys giggles out and Papyrus lets out a groan of frustration that sounds more like you than him as Mettaton agrees. "I l-l-like the _s-s-s-sediment_!"   

"TRAITOR!" Papyrus roars out as you all lose it at Alphys' joke ("damn alph, 'm so proud of you," Sans manages to choke out as he wipes at his sockets.) 

This was goodbye. 

 Now you're all stalling. Okay, so you're being a little dramatic. He's coming back in a few weeks. Papyrus just takes up so much space _-_ in the best way possible, of course. His personality fills your entire home up and he's _leaving_. 

"now that's a rather _boulder_ statement, don'tcha think?"  

"SANS!" 

Rather than just letting Papyrus leave your place with Mettaton, you'd thrown Frisk and Sans in your car to officially wave them off. It wasn't just the two of them leaving after all; Blooky, Shyren, and their manager (who knew that Shyren's 'body' was her manager? You're lucky that you've almost mastered the art of not making a total ass of yourself when it comes to monsters) were leaving with them. 

Most of the monsters weren't good with long goodbyes apparently since your little ragtag group made up the majority of the monsters hanging around. There were a few others, but Undyne, Alphys, Tori, Asriel, and Grillby had met you guys there to really drag this out. 

"I'll make sure that Sans takes care of himself," you say to Papyrus, "and the rock." The rock that you have no idea where it is.  

"EXCELLENT! I EXPECT THEM TO BE IN GOOD HEALTH WHEN I RETURN IN..."  

"Eight weeks, my gentlebeauty," Mettaton winks at you as he wraps an arm around Paps' shoulders. "A two month extravaganza! Traveling the country and performing! Seeing some of the sights that the surface has to offer!"  

"eight weeks with no paps' breathing down my spine. imagine all the naps i'm gonna be able to take in peace," Sans says with fake gusto that you see through in a heartbeat.  

"ENJOY IT WHILE YOU CAN, BROTHER."  

" _Come home soon!"_ Frisk bounds up to Papyrus, who immediately picks them up.  

"Come home safe," Undyne says warmly before her tone shifts, "or else." The threat is so clear that you hear a mechanical sounding gulp. You might have just been kidding around, but Undyne... She'd turn him into scrap metal before Sans would even be able to shortcut towards him.  

If Papyrus hears the threat, he doesn't acknowledge it. "I WILL!" 

At first, Sans just waves as the group of travelers makes their way towards the SUV that they're leaving in. Then you give him a nudge at the same time that you see Tori fix Sans with her trademark mom glare and he's off, running towards Papyrus. 

"Boys," Tori sounds exasperated as she winks at you, "what would they do without us looking after them?" 

"I can't speak for all boys, but Papyrus would have an entire house as a kitchen and Sans would probably live off of lunchables." 

" _Lunchables are yummy!"_ Frisk jumps in at the mention of food, of course.  

"No," Tori slaps her hand over her mouth so loudly that you jump, "Just no. I need to fix this. Frisk, you're coming with me right this second. I'm going to have you help me cook a real lunch. Does anyone want to join us?"  

You start to object to her kidnapping Frisk when you end up receiving a mom glare of your own. Nope, not worth it. Pick your battles, ----. Free food isn't a battle worth fighting.  

"I dunno," Undyne shrugs as she glances at Alphys. 

"I c-can't. I h-have work to do." Alphys gives an apologetic smile that falters when Undyne frowns.  

"More work? Babe-" 

"It's im-important D-Dyne. I w-wouldn't miss Tori's c-cooking for any old th-thing!" The two of them share a heated look, but not one of the ones that had you distracting Frisk underground. Apparently you weren't the only one with a workaholic partner.  

"I'll help _,"_ Grillby says. His flames give a low pop as he cracks(?) his fingers. "It's always a pleasure playing with another monster that uses fire magic. _"_  

"The pleasure's all mine! It isn't often that someone can show me up in the kitchen." Tori gives Grillby a smile that you can only describe as flirtatious (please no, too awkward) before she glances over at you. 

"I'll catch up. I have a bonehead to check on."  

 

* * *

 

Ten minutes later, Sans pops into existence next to you and automatically wraps himself around you, burying his face into the crook of your neck. You startle, dropping your phone on the ground, before you wrap your arms around your boyfriend.  

"Some warning next time, jeeze. It's weird when you pop out of thin air and I have you all over me one second later," you tease. 

"sorry." 

He sounds so sad that you have to hold him a little tighter. The need to reassure him bubbles up and overflows from your very SOUL. 

"Sans, love, Papyrus will be fine. He'll be back before you know it." 

"i know." 

"Everything will be fine." 

"i know." 

Instead of saying anything you just pepper the part of his skull that you can reach with soft kisses, your hands rubbing the top of his spine and his scapula. He doesn't say anything either, but he does lean a little harder into you. You can feel an odd wet sensation on your neck after another minute – he's crying.  

You don't stop or even let up. 

After a few minutes, he pulls away from you, wiping at his eyes. "sorry 'bout that." 

"Don't be. I'm glad to be someone you can lean on emotionally. And apparently literally as well." When Sans meets your gaze, you give him a wicked grin and he chuckles lowly. "So what's on your agenda today?" 

"i have to go get ready for work," he sighs.  

"Already? They're working you to death." 

"can't work bones to death." It's like he's trying to sound normal, but it's more strained than usual. You want to get him to cut his hours (or better yet, quit), but now isn't the time. One thing at a time. 

"Want me to bring home some Tori food for you?" 

"mmm, you're perfect." Sans wraps himself around you again, except this time he presses kisses all over you.

 

* * *

 

You don’t head straight towards Tori's place. You need a few minutes just for you. How long had it been since you'd had that? Probably not since... well, not since the last timeline probably. You can't remember. 

You can't remember which means it's been far too long. 

 So you walk away from the campsite that was in the process of transforming into a town. Frisk will be perfectly fine with Tori, you can afford a few minutes for yourself.  

The small paths that trespassers like you once made are now larger and more official looking. There's still a few smaller ones that lead off of the widen paths, but look more like animal trails when compared to the ones that the monsters use.  

  It's hard to believe that this time last year that this place had been so quiet and still. The sounds of nature have been drowned out by construction from the monsters. The smell of pine is still there, but it's buried under the smell of diesel from the trucks that regularly patrol for trespassers now.  

You follow your old 'thinking trail' by memory as you think.  

"LOOK OUT!"  

You slam on the breaks as soon as Undyne shouts, the tree in front of you pierced with a turquoise spear that hadn't been there half a second ago. 

"Holy shit!"  

"----, are you alright?" You can't answer – you're fine, except for your heart racing and fear making your throat clench up. "Fuck, Sans is going to kill me." 

"Fine. I'm fine," you manage to gasp out. "Just fucking scared me. Good lord woman. What did that tree do to you?"  

"It wasn't. I just needed- Er, firewood." She makes a pulling motion with her right arm and the spear vanishes. "I was sent to get firewood." 

"Because there isn't any wood to burn with all the work going on at camp?" Undyne bristles at your sass, clearly not liking that you saw through her weak fib. "Relax. If you need to take out a tree for some reason, it's fine. Work through...whatever it is you need to work through." 

"Who says I need to work through anything?" 

"Well, for starters, that tree does." Undyne glares past you at the tree that is missing a good few inches of it's bark.  

"Maybe I do need to let some anger out," she admits after another second, her shoulders falling. "Or maybe it's sadness. I don't fuckin' know." 

"Want to talk about it?" You inch away from the tree and closer to Undyne, staying out of the way of her throwing arm – you know, just in case.  

"Not really? I mean, I do, just..." Undyne lets out a sigh that slowly transforms into a growl. "Not yet. I need to actually be an adult and use my words first."  

You can't help the small snort that escapes you. "You and us all, Undyne. You and us all. If you decide you want to talk, I'm always here to listen." You gently punch her arm as you start to walk past her since she clearly needs some time to herself. 

"Wait!" Oh no, you know that tone. That tone means nothing but misery for your body. "Wanna get some training in? It's been a while." 

No, no you would not. Not when Undyne has some issues to work through. 

"I'm not wearing the right shoes." The excuse sounds feeble even to your own ears. 

"'I'm not wearing the right shoes'," she mocks, "So? Do you think anyone that would hurt you cares about what's on your feet?"  

"No?" You're ready to say 'no', but Undyne looks so happy at the prospect of training with you that you just can't. Apparently, you're quite the masochist. "Alright, fine. Just don't actually hurt me, humans generally aren't very understanding of people getting the shit kicked out of them for funsies." 

"Got it!" 

You doubt that for some reason. 

 

* * *

 

"You remembered a lot of what I taught you!" Undyne is panting, pride creeping into her voice. You aren't much better – the two of you had made your way through the forest, your sparing purely physical today. Your legs are shaking, bruises forming all over your body. Undyne had pulled her punches some, but she'd still connected.  

"It hasn't been that long. Do you remember where I ditched my flip flops?" You'd gotten rid of them ages ago, putting them at the base of a tree that you promised yourself you would remember where it was. 

So naturally you have no idea where the hell your shoes are.  

"Nope." 

Great. You give a breathless laugh and shake your head – figures. "Tori is going to think that I have no idea how to take care of myself." 

"Still better off than I am with her. She's convinced I'd be lost with Alphys." Undyne flashes you grin, already catching her breath. "Jeeze, I'm glad monster food heals humans. You look like shit." 

"Who's fault is that?"  

"Yours," she snarks, "should've dodged better." You blow a very deflated sounding raspberry her way and she giggles before it cuts off. Her yellow eye grows wide and her jaw drops a bit. "Holy shit." 

You know exactly what she sees now. Only one thing could get a reaction like that out of her up on this mountain. You look behind you and – yep, just like you thought. The giant hole that you fell down so long ago is right there. 

"Glad we stopped where we did," you try to sound playful, but your voice falls flat. Falling down may have been one of the best things that happened to you, but you'll be damned if you do it again.  

"You and Frisk... All those other kids...Fell down that?" Undyne takes a few steps towards the cavernous opening.  

You don't. 

"Yep."  

Undyne turns to look at you again, her face unreadable. "Sorry, this must be weird for you." 

"Just a bit. I... I don't want to get too close to it," you admit, "I'm still kind of clumsy and if the barrier's broken... Who knows if there's anything to soften the landing." 

Undyne doesn't step any closer or even say anything. After a moment, you decide to be brave. You take tiny steps until your next to Undyne. You're too far to fall into it, but your stomach still plummets.  

So you close your eyes and just...breathe.  

In. 

 

 

Out.  

 

 

 

 

In. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Out. 

 

 

 

In. 

 

 

 

That's when you feel the magic in the air. It wraps around your SOUL and pulls, like the underground itself wants to pull you back down.  

 

 

 

 

 

"----? ----? Are you ok?" 

"Yeah," you lie, "I'm fine." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Toddlers are hard work, yo.


	98. Love's a Beach

The house feels empty without Papyrus' presence. For the first day it didn't bother you much (he'd spent the night with Undyne before, afterall), but when he was still gone by the next night... Well, it feels like something is missing. By day seven you feel incredibly pitiful – what were you going to do when he actually moves out? He isn't going to want to stay with you, Sans, and Frisk – wait, Frisk probably wasn't going to stick around for very much longer either. 

Fuck. This isn't right, you're far too young to have empty nest syndrome.  

Your nest (even with Frisk still snuggly in it) was emptier and not just because of Papyrus being gone. Sans had thrown himself into his jobs with gusto you didn't know he possessed and was showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. With the exception of a brief shopping trip together the day after Papyrus had left, you'd only seen him in passing or asleep. 

Papyrus at least called daily. Sure, you and Sans texted back and forth frequently, but it wasn't the same. Frisk was great, Damien was great, Grillby was sympathetic but... They weren't Sans. 

You'd already missed Sans to start with, but now you still haven't had a chance to talk to him about how you felt like you _needed_ to go to the underground again. You could do it over text, sure, but everytime you started to try to type it out you just sounded insane.  

'Yeah, Sans, I ended up by the hole that leads to the ruins and when I got too close, I suddenly felt the need to jump down it and go exploring. Oh, yeah, I still feel it even a week later.' 

Yeah, you're losing your mind.  

" _\----?"_ Frisk's voice startles you out of your thoughts. You'd been so lost in thought that you hadn't notice Frisk come into the living room, interrupting your morning coffee. You may have let out an undignified yelp, but at least all your coffee stayed in the mug. " _Earth to ----, do you read me ----?"_  

"I read you loud and clear, brat." 

" _Don't be mean, it's not my fault that you didn't hear me come out of my room. Plus I said good morning already."_  

"You did not. And I'm not being mean," you grouse at Frisk. They give you a small glare which would have been kind of intimidating, if they weren't in tacky colored footie pajamas still. "I can tune your voice in my head out, but I can't ignore it."  

" _I,"_ Frisk sucks in a breath and pinches the bridge of their nose, "I said it out loud."  

"Oh." That'd explain it. Frisk's actual voice was getting stronger, but it was still quiet. Or at least much quieter than a direct line to your brain. "My bad. So why do you dare disturb my coffee time, child?" You give Frisk a wink as you pat the spot on the couch next to you.  

Frisk doesn't take the bait as they sit next to you on the couch. " _Are you ok?"_ You try and play it off with a coy answer, but Frisk still doesn't take the bait. _"You seem worried about something._ _"_  

"Just life stuff." 

_"Don't lie to me. We’ve been through too much together."_  

Why is Frisk so damn perceptive? The two of you have been through so much together, you just don't want to worry them more. They've been through enough in their life – they deserve to have some peace for a change.  

"Guess I'm just not as tough as you are, kiddo. The nightmares are still around, that's all." It's a half-truth (why are you so good at those?) at least. Frisk gives you a disbelieving look, so you double down on your fib. "Really." 

" _You won't ever get over it,"_ they say after a long silence. " _They slow down over time, but I think we'll both always have them."_  

"I hope you're wrong." Frisk leans into you and grabs at your coffee, taking a small sip. "You don't need this yet." 

" _Says who?"_  

"Me." Frisk blows a raspberry as they stretch out on the couch. The two of you dive into your own thoughts again, your free hand running through Frisk's hair.  

" _Goat mom invited us to the beach."_  

_"_ When?"  

" _Today. Can we go? I know you have today off!"_  

Frisk's pleading works. "Sure, why not?" It'd get you both out of the house at least. Maybe it'd even get your mind of the skeleton brothers. 

 

* * *

 

The first thing you see at the beach is Undyne – which is saying something since there's an almost eight foot tall Tori next to her. It's the combination of that red hair and that smile of hers that grabs your attention. Undyne is practically radiating happiness.  

A very sharp and pointy happiness. 

"PUNKS!" She's spotted the two of you. "DO YOU TWO KNOW HOW TO SWIM?" From behind her, Alphys gives a little wave in your general direction, her eyes glued to her girlfriend. Even from here, you can see the glint in her eyes. 

" _I do!"_  

_"_ Me too!" 

"GOOD! IT'S TIME TO-"  

"Undyne, you don't have to yell. They're right there." Holy cow, he can talk without prodding. Well, sort of. Asriel hunches over a bit when everyone looks at him. "What? It's true." 

There's another moment of silence as everyone seems to digest that Asriel is talking without being forced to.

"Asriel Dreemur, don't be rude." You and Undyne both snort at the withering look that Tori flashes her son as she snaps out of it. 

"Sorry," he says much quieter than before. 

"ANYWAY. It's time to swim, punks! I got one of those board things that we're all gonna learn to use!"  

"A-a-all?" The lovestruck glint vanishes in an instant. 

"Yes, all. C'mon babe, it'll be fun! Even Queen T is gonna give it a shot." Oh, this is going to be fun. Tori on a surfboard. You're all in.

 

* * *

 

Your everything hurts by the time you crawl out of the ocean. Your arms, your abs, your pride... That and to top it off, the wind on your skin feels cold. Alphys (having escaped Undyne's cheerful clutches with you) isn't fairing much better next to you.  

"Your girlfriend is insane," you grumble as you wrap a towel around the shivering monster. Apparently Alphys is actually a magic-powered reptile. "Completely out of her damn mind." 

"N-n-not j-j-just her. T-T-Tori is j-just as b-bad." That's not an exaggeration. Something about Undyne seemed to stroke Tori's competitive side. "At l-l-least the k-kids are having f-f-f-fun."  

You take your place on your towel and pat the spot next to you on it. "Only because they're masochists."  

"It's s-s-so pretty up h-here," Alphys says after a few moments of just watching the others in the water. "I c-can't b-believe this is my life some d-d-days, you know? I g-g-got my r-redemption arc!"  

"I'm m-making a d-difference in our f-future, p-p-people f-forgave me for my experiments, and I g-got the girl!" She explains at your questioning look.

"Mew Mew Kissy Cutie ain't got nothin' on you," you quip and Alphys grins.  

"Or you! You and F-Frisk freed us s-somehow and you h-have your s-soulmate!"  

"Doesn't always feel like it," you grumble lowly. Alphys nudges you when you shake your head. "I've barely seen him at all since Papyrus left. It was bad enough before then, but now? I'm down a soulmate." 

Alphys frowns lightly. "Wh-what do you mean? He doesn't w-work that long with Asgore u-usually." 

"He has a human job too." 

"He WHAT?" Alphys sounds shocked. "He told me he didn't- Oh, I'll kill him for you." 

You laugh at the passion in her voice – she sounds more like Undyne then herself right now. "Don't. He needs to be busy, I think. Just... not this busy." 

"He sh-shouldn't be n-n-neglecting you. I mean, 'Dyne is b-busy, but she still makes time for me."  

"I think he's just adjusting," you admit to her and before you can stop it, everything comes rushing out, "and I feel like such a fool for complaining about him working, especially since it's only been a week of this, you know? It's a brand new world for him and he should get to jump headfirst into whatever he wants, but-" 

"Did I just hear Sans, jump, and work come out of your mouth?" Undyne rushes up, plopping (still soaked) down on your towel. "This sounds like a joke."  

"It's n-not," Alphys interjects for you. "----, it's how he d-deals with things. Work h-himself stupid and then cr-crash and burn. I've seen him do it a f-f-few times in the past."  

"Not recently," Undyne grumbles, clearly thinking about how many times she's caught Sans snoozing while working for her.  

"B-B-Because it's not healthy." Alphys looks thoughtful for a moment, chewing on her lower lip. "I t-t-talked to him the other day about something, but I'll do it again." 

"About what?" It's not like Alphys to not spill everything right away.  

"C-can't say," she gives you a small yet apologetic smile, "but he'll c-come back down soon, promise. He always does." 

"I hope so," you say. "Now enough about me and Sans, what are you two love reptiles up to?" 

"Love reptiles?" Undyne raises her good eyebrow at you. "I think you should leave the jokes to Sans, pal. But we're good." She grins and elbows Alphys softly. 

"R-real good."  

"We plan on sharing SOULs soon," Undyne stage whispers as Alphys blushes and squawks at her. "What? She shared with you, it's not like I plan on telling her how I plan on doing it with you dressed up as-" 

You don’t hear the rest since Alphys tackles Undyne away, screaming as she does. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm alive! Updates are going to be sporadic for a while still, but not two and a half months sporadic. I'm in a program now that has been kicking my ass since it's only eight weeks long, but the class portion is almost over. Clinicals should be less soulsucking. 
> 
> (As of the day I'm posting this, I'll get all caught up with my messages and some stories over the next few days - I've got to stop procrastinating and go get ready.)


	99. (Finally) Relaxing

After a day (well, more like weeks, but who was counting?) of constantly being responsible for others, you needed a break. A few minutes just for you. No added stress. No worrying about Papyrus, Frisk, or Sans – just you. So once Frisk went to bed after your beach day, you decided to take advantage of your favorite part of your home. 

The garden tub.  

If anyone asked why you picked this place (not that they would, but if they ever did you were ready) you'd say that you liked: the area, the layout of the place, the fact that the government was paying for most of it since you took in Frisk, the fact that it was newly renovated, the fireplace... You had a list ready, but you had known that this was 'the one' as soon as you'd spotted the garden tub in the master bathroom. Now for the first time you were going to use it.  

The excitement is nearly palpable as you plug the tub once the water warms and start to strip.  Bubble bath? Check. Razor in case you feel like shaving? Not likely, but check. Trashy women's health magazine to make you feel smart yet bad about yourself at the same time? Check. Drink within arm's reach?  

No check. Whatever, you have time. The tub is huge(!) so you have time to go grab a snack before its is anywhere near full. You haphazardly wrap a towel around you and you head toward the kitchen in the dark. 

As soon as you round the corner, you see the grim reaper in your kitchen. He's just standing there in the dark, clearly lost in thought. His eyes are fuzzy, staring at something you can't see. He's still completely dressed in his work uniform from what you can see, even still in his shoes.  

"Jesus fucking christ, Sans," you grumble out as soon as you recover from your body's mini-spasm, "I didn’t feel you come in."  

It takes him a second to find you, his eyes focusing in on you. He doesn't even bother smiling at you, but he does stare in that almost unnerving way that he does.  

"Sans?" He winces at your voice and you cross over to him without another word, placing your hand on his arm in an unspoken question – what's wrong? 

"my skull hurts a bit. i'll be fine," he answers. 

Without another word, you press a kiss to his cheek and stifle a giggle when he presses into your touch.  

When you pull away from him, Sans chases your warmth with a whine that you're sure that he didn't mean to make. Flashing him a smile, you open the fridge to grab some water and he lets out a loud hiss at the light.  

"Migraine?" He nods sharply. "I know just thing. Stay here for a minute and then follow me, okay? I need to turn off some lights." Sans nods again. 

You move quickly, gathering what you need and shutting off lights as quick as you can. For once, you're quick enough. When Sans joins you in the bathroom you've managed to grab another towel, light a few of the random in case of emergency candles that you had squirreled away, shut off the water and turn off the lights. The bathroom has an almost ethereal glow to it now; a fact that you tuck away for a later and more romantic date.  

For now at least, this is care. Self care and Sans care.  

"Strip," you order.  

"babe, 'm not really in the mood for-" 

"I know," you say in a whisper, "this isn't about romancing you. I'd like better smelling candles at for you not to be covered in flour and grease or whatever for that. I want to help you relax. So strip Sans." You smirk as you toss your towel on the ground and sink into the wonderfully warm and bubbly water. When he doesn't move right away, you give him the 'come here' motion with your finger. 

In a flurry of moment, Sans finally follows your orders. While his clothes are gross, his bones aren't – he must have cleaned up a bit before he came home. When he comes towards the tub, he tries to sit across from you. 

"Nope. Come cuddle with me babe. Unless you want the faucet in the back of your head." Sans just gives you a half-cocked smile and he slides into the water, leaning back into you. His spine isn't the most comfortable thing to have poking into you, but holding him like this makes it more than worth it.  

For a minute or two, you just enjoy having him near you (with both of you awake and aware of the other) with no other distractions. Even if he doesn't feel like his usual self, Sans still makes you feel good; he knocks his head against yours softly, lets out a content sigh, and the butterflies in your belly stir. 

Stop staring, you chide yourself, you're being weird. As quietly as you can you pull one hand out of the water, shaking the drops off like a cat would, and grab your magazine. 

"thank you. needed this," he says after a while. His voice is soft, but it no longer has that pained twinge to it anymore. 

You smile and press a kiss to the side of his skull. "Anytime."  

It takes another couple of minutes, but you finally get into your magazine. Oh man, they're just as bad as you remember. Best 'knock-off' jeans that are still somehow a hundred bucks? HA. Visible abs in a month if you follow this routine? Not if your love of food has anything to say about it. 

"say about what?"  

"Er. Did I say that out loud?" You haven't even been drinking, why are you talking to yourself? Wait, how long have you been talking to yourself? 

"yup, so spill." 

"This is saying that if I do this exercise routine every day for a month, I'll have visible abs which is bullshit since-" 

"you like food too much," Sans chuckles.  

"Yeah. Not just food, but carbs. Mmm... carbs. Getting hungry just thinking about them."  

Sans outright laughs and you beam – he's feeling better. "i'm pretty sure that's the exact opposite of what that article was supposed to do for you. not that i'm complaining. once you get abs you might want to be able to see your ribs." 

"You don't want to see my skeleton?"  

"not particularly. i like the skin lingerie it wears. it keeps it all to the imagination."  

"Oh my god. 'Skin lingerie'? Gross Sans." Your words might have sounded harsh if you weren't laughing. Leave it to Sans to make something sound so gross. 

"you love it. so, what's in that garbage that's good?" 

"Nothing," you freely admit, "absolutely nothing. It's good for a laugh and that's about it." 

"well don't leave me hanging. share a real _rib_ tickler with me." 

You smirk and ignore the pun, thankful that Sans can't see your face, as you flip towards the best part of the magazine.  

"Ooo, here's one you'll like – cover his penis with your favorite sauce so that sucking him is more fun for you."  

"bullshit. it doesn't say that." 

"Yes it does." 

"no, it doesn't," he says, but it sounds less sure this time.  

"Oh yes," you say in your best Mettaton voice.  

In record speed, Sans' hand flies out of the water and grabs the magazine from your hand. Once he reads it for himself, Sans cracks. He's laughing so hard his ribs are shaking and he's wheezing. 

Did you break him? 

"Are you...okay? Sans?" He gives you a shaky thumbs up as he keeps laughing. Okay, it wasn't this funny. 

"sauce on my dick," he hiccups out," your 'ton voice. oh my god." His laughter starts to finally die down some when he half turns to look at you. "i needed that too apparently." 

"I guess I found that rib-tickler," you snark and he snorts. 

"that you did. mission accomplished, sorry i doubted you." He smiles at you – a real smile- as he hands you back the now partially wet magazine.  

"Wait a second, you doubted me? Rude." 

Sans just laughs again and threads his fingers through your free hand as he rolls back around again. "c'mon, hit me with another." 

"So this one says that during dinner I should mention how I'm going to devour you like I am the food. Maybe I'll get some spare ribs for the occasion."  

"that'd be weird - 'hey bonedaddy, i'mma chew on your ribs like this later'." 

"I don't sound like that," you grumble at his impression of you. 

"fair's fair. what else?" 

"Oh, the usual hijinks. Stick your dick in a doughnut, bite your balls, and give you a beer facial." 

"ah, so the usual random tuesday stuff? that's lame." Sans' tone fails to be nonchalant. "got to say though, the beer facial may be wasted on my old bones." 

"...But the doughnut thing works for you?"  

"you bet your sweet ass it does." Sans gives your hand a little squeeze. 

"Got some good news for you. Papyrus is coming home for the weekend," you say all in one breath. Sans' breath hitches slightly and he spins to face you. "Only for his birthday weekend. I'm going to help throw him a hell of a birthday bash - and no, he has no idea so keep those teeth shut."  

"holy shit! when did this get decided?" 

"The day he left. Mettaton helped me put it together."  

"why didn't you tell me sooner? i would helped-" 

"No, you wouldn't have. You're too busy. You're basically killing yourself as is; you don't need anything else on your plate." 

"heh, never thought anyone would ever say _that_ to me," Sans mumbles dejectedly. Before you can tell him that you weren't trying to attack him, he sighs and gives you a small smile. "that's fair though. i'm certainly not in the running for bonefriend of the year right now, am i?" 

"you sure are though. i've gotta remember how awesome this feels later." 

"It's getting kind of cold for me now. You want to stay in for a while?"  

"nah, i'll get out with you." Sans pulls the plug and the two of you get out together. Sans gives your butt a playful pinch and you swat at his sacrum with a towel. The playful touches continue as the two of you get ready for bed.  

Sans finishes brushing his teeth before you (you're not sure how since in theory he needs to brush more that you do) and watches you in the mirror. When you make a face at him, complete with toothpaste rabies froth all over your mouth, he just wipes some of it off with a finger before he wraps his arms around your waist. 

You try and fail to spit gracefully. When you look back up, Sans' gaze meets yours in your reflection. The two you look cute together, you think. An odd couple maybe, what with your fleshy human bits compared to his skeletal ones. Both of you look tired, wearing matching dark circles near your eyes, but there's a happiness radiating from you both. 

"alphys offered me a job today," he says quietly. "she's gotten approval for a second royal scientist and... she wants me, i guess." 

"That's awesome!" You give his reflection a giant grin, but he doesn't return it. "Isn't it?"  

"i guess? i told myself that i'd never go back to it after everything." 

"Sans..." 

The lights of Sans' eyes meet yours in the mirror. "i know, it's stupid. gaster's... wherever he is now. whatever he is now. alphys would be fun to work with again." 

You don't say anything as you pull him to bed. Not that it's difficult to do since he comes willing, even letting you be the big spoon. "Think about it, will ya? You deserve real happiness Sans. And downtime." 

"i will."  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It only took me a month and a half to update this time lol. Progress? I start working again this week (THANK FUCK), so I don't know when the next chapter is going to be up. I am going to start aiming for a chapter a week again, I just need to make sure that's doable.
> 
> Thanks for all the cringey sex tips!


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